Evil Intent
by HaleyRiler
Summary: Curiosity's birthday has just come around and nothing good ever comes of it. With an old enemy bent on seeking revenge, Joker's cell right next door, and Jonathan Crane privy to her worst fears Curiosity hates the day she was born. Sequel to Brucie Boy
1. We'll See

Evil Intent Part 1

Adrian awoke to the sound of sirens and quickly leapt to her feet before leaning over and hurling into a nearby trash can. It was only an ambulance heading out of town.

"Fucking pregnancy…" she muttered and stood up once more, using the door frame of her new office as a brace.

After her "successful" rehabilitation of Dr. Crane (at least rehabilitated enough that he was able to carry on conversations with other patients without trying to kill them over her), Hugo Strange (with a little convincing from Bruce Wayne) had recommended her to a local college where she was currently finishing her doctorate. Hugo had finally agreed to allow her to fill Dr. Crane's position until she had finished her doctorate at which time he would hold a fair interview for anyone to hold the position.

Although Hugo was unwilling to pay for her college time at first he was eventually persuaded by Bruce who offered to pay for her schooling and a new security system if she was allowed to hold Dr. Crane's former position until a replacement could be found or she completed her schooling and earned the position herself.

Hugo however seemed more interested in the prospect of Adrian's working around Dr. Crane and was eager to keep her on board provided he didn't have to pay anything extra to keep her at Arkham.

Adrian was now a little more than eight months pregnant but had refused to take maternity leave for fear that another candidate that would take her position would likely keep the position. For the last eight months and in the last few weeks especially, she had been careful to avoid certain cells… namely those of Jonathan Crane and Haley Riler who seemed very distant lately and had started giving everyone the silent treatment, including Zai.

Detective Yin had released her name after recalling a statement the girl had made while under the care of Gotham General Hospital following her stabbing.

Normally Hugo would have taken her case himself but due to the fact that they had "history" together, he felt it better to leave her under Dr. Adrian Davis' CAPABLE care… AND watch the after affects later of course.

Needless to say that both parties objected to the agreement but neither had any say in the matter and so carried on with the current arrangement.

"Miss Riler." Adrian greeted as she entered the room but Curiosity merely glared at her and remained seated in a straightjacket.

Adrian frowned and sat down at her desk.

"Not very talkative today I see. You've been quiet this week. I don't think you've EVER been this quiet. You haven't even smarted off to Joker this week and we both know he deserved it." She started but Curiosity remained silent, "Haley?"

At this Curiosity's eyes flicked over to Adrian and her expression grew dark.

"If you weren't pregnant you'd be dead by now or writing in excruciating pain. Lucky for you I don't kill children." she growled, "Don't ever call me that again or I might reconsider."

Adrian paused at this and simply stared at Curiosity for a moment. The girl looked the same but something was definitely different about her. Her eyes were dark and cold, the energetic innocence in her eyes seemed to be gone all together. Though Adrian knew the girl was far from innocent she still managed to fool those who didn't know so into thinking she was through her playful mannerisms. Today however it seemed that even those unaware of her history would be able to tell what malevolence lurked within the confines of her mind merely by looking into her now soulless green eyes.

When Adrian didn't look away Curiosity gave her a disgusted look and got to her feet, turning around to pace behind her chair slowly as if she were waiting for something to happen and yet knew it wouldn't because she wouldn't let it.

After a few moments she finally spoke in the same even, but hateful, tone she had before.

"Talk about sleeping your way to the top. You've got Crane's job and Wayne's money. You really hit the jackpot when Crane snapped didn't you? Brucie boy pays you off so you don't squeal, Crane spends his days locked up while you take his job, and everyone looks at you like you're a hero."

"Why are you so angry all of a sudden? The orderlies told me you haven't even spoken to Zai this week and yet now that you ARE choosing to speak you're being as hateful as possible."

"Already calling them the orderlies are we? I wonder if they would offer you such condescending terms in your position." She said callously, avoiding the question.

"Fine, you want to play that way, I'll play that way. Gabe told me you haven't been speaking to Zai or anyone for that matter. Neither of us like this arrangement but we don't exactly have a choice now do we?" she snapped, thinking quickly and assuming that Haley was acting this way because she was upset with their being paired together for therapy.

"I know we don't." she said callously, seeming suddenly bored with the conversation, knowing Adrian wouldn't understand her reasoning for things when even she didn't understand it all herself.

Adrian stared at her in confusion once more and Curiosity let her eyes wander around until they found Adrian's stomach.

"How far along are you?" she asked quietly, "About 8 or 9 months now?"

"Eight months and one week." Adrian answered, leaning back in her chair a little, "Why do you care?"

"Why DO I care? That's a good question." She mused, plopping back down in her chair and facing Adrian, "It's coming soon. That's all I really have to worry about. You'll be dead soon enough. The only thing I'm really concerned about at the moment is where the kid will go AFTER I kill you. Are your parents nice?" she asked seemingly lost in thought until after she asked the question.

This stunned Adrian for a moment and she was quiet before Curiosity stood up again and turned around.

"In any case I suggest you find a good home for the kid. He's going to need one after he's born." She said quietly and started to walk out to meet the guards.

"She…" Adrian corrected, "And she isn't going anywhere and neither am I." she said a little more forcefully.

"We'll see…" she said in a monotone, almost sad voice before leaving with the guards, "We'll see…"

Adrian stood in silence for a moment before swiping her hand across her desk and running the hand through her hair.

"Shit…" she muttered, leaning all the way back in her chair, "Shit."

When Curiosity returned to her cell she sat down in the corner opposite the bed and moved her shoulders in a practiced manner until the straightjacket was loose enough that she could move her arms up to her mouth and bite the cuffs free from the jacket.

She didn't feel like escaping at the moment but she wanted to have her arms free. She sighed and leaned against the wall and looked up at the ceiling for a long time before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.


	2. Waking Nightmares

Evil Intent part 2

Curiosity breathed in deeply before her eyes suddenly flicked open and she saw a figure standing outside her cell door.

"I thought that was you…" she sighed, smiling grimly recognizing the figure immediately despite all the lights in the hall suddenly going out.

The end of a long silvery scythe hung at the figure's feet. Ruby droplets dripped with a sickening plop on the dimly lit white tile. The only light came from the window in her room as moonlight filtered in through the bars.

"You know me?" the figure asked in an almost angelic tone that seemed to hang in the air eerily.

"You're a Memitim." She said solemnly, "I'm dreaming. This is the same dream I've dreamt every year since I was 13. You were nice to me until my 16th birthday. Now you're just cruel." She said harshly.

"I'm the same thing I've always been. YOU are the only one who has changed." The figure replied coldly.

Haley was quiet for a long time before speaking.

"Funny how I'm always the one torturing myself." She laughed, tears streaming down the sides of her cheeks.

After a moment the figure glanced over at the cell opposite hers and grinned, revealing a set of all too familiar sharp teeth.

"I'm not here for you tonight I'm afraid. Happy birthday by the way…" It grinned, a set of all too familiar sharp teeth leering back at her.

"You're mocking me." She stated a bit crossly.

"Precisely…" the figure grinned, dropping her hood to reveal Curiosity's own face turned ashen gray.

Curiosity woke up in a cold sweat and smoothed her hair back from her face, breathing hard.

"Shit!" she breathed, pacing the front of her cell to calm down.

Crane woke up groggily and noticed Curiosity's pacing before coming to the bars.

"Would it kill you to be a little quieter? Some of us are trying to sleep." He said in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Not tonight…" she muttered, still thinking back to her dream, glancing up at the clock as it struck twelve, her blood running cold, "Not tonight, it's tomorrow morning now…"

"What are you talking about?" Crane asked blearily, "I thought you were one of the saner ones here."

"Saner ones?" she laughed hysterically, "Really? I carve people's faces up and kill good people for no reason and you think I'm one of the saner ones!" she said with tears in her eyes, dropping to her knees and laughing as she gripped the bars of her cell.

"You what?" he asked, not completely understanding what she was saying through her laughter.

Suddenly she stopped laughing and grinned psychotically at him through the bars.

"Today's my birthday! I've been killing people for 8 years now! And who KNOWS how many I've killed! And now…" she laughed even harder, wiping tears from her eyes, "NOW I'm having NIGHTMARES about death! How's THAT for irony?" she laughed hysterically.

Crane grinned sadistically now and leaned against the wall to look sideways at her.

"So you're afraid to die?" he asked with a sly grin.

At this Curiosity stopped laughing all together.

"Shit…" she muttered, "I forgot who I was talking to."

"So… what do you think would happen if I convinced an old friend of mine to deem you sane? Do you think they'd give you the death penalty? Lethal injection?" he asked, grinning sadistically.

Her face grew pale at this and she turned around so that she wouldn't have to face him anymore.

"If you try something like that I'll be sure to put you through hell before killing you AND Adrian." She hissed, beginning to panic.

Crane laughed at her now.

"You're nothing but a little girl! Despite all your talk you're just a little girl afraid today will be your last aren't you?" he taunted, sticking his head between the bars to smirk at her.

At this Curiosity's cheeks turned a scarlet red and she screamed in frustration as she realized she had nothing to throw at him.

"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!" She screamed, squeezing her head through the bars as well and trying her best to shove herself the rest of the way through toward him.

To his surprise she actually made it through with some effort and began to strangle him through the bars.

He kicked at her but she laughed at him as he tried his best to pry her fingers from his throat.

"Laugh! Come on! Try me again!" she laughed sadistically, her eyes alight with a sadistic furry that would have scarred Satan himself.

By this time however Gabe and Ian had seen her and were beginning to help Crane pry her fingers from his neck.

Refusing to let go without a fight she dug her nails into the sides of his neck and raked them across his skin until finally she was forced to let go and they drug her to solitary.

When she'd left Zai came forward tentatively to see the bright red scratches along Crane's neck.

"What the Hell happened?" she asked, having heard about half of the conversation.

"Haley told me what she was afraid of." He grinned despite the pain in his neck.


	3. Solitary

Evil Intent part 3

Curiosity kicked the padded walls around her furiously before hearing the door to solitary open and stopping abruptly.

"Professor Strange." She greeted, turning her head to the side slightly to look over her shoulder at him but then turning back to the wall and kicking it once more for good measure.

"Miss Riler." He greeted in return, studying her as she kicked the wall angrily.

She threw him a sideways glance now and glared at him.

"Don't call me that. If you're going to address me like that I'm not going to speak to you." she said flatly, growing impatient.

Hugo seemed a little confused by this. It was only her name after all but he shrugged and sat down.

"Alright, how may I address you then? Would you prefer I called you Haley?" he asked calmly.

"My name is Curiosity." She said, glaring fiercely at him now, "Haley died a long time ago." She said, turning back toward away from him and sitting in the corner, prepared to ignore him until he left.

"Alright "Curiosity"." He started, putting an emphasis on Curiosity that made her want to choke him, "I assume you know why you are here?"

"Actually I don't. I don't know why I'm here. I don't know why I'm sitting in an asylum with a crackpot shrink and a bunch of flunkies. I should have left by now. I should be onto the next city, onto the next alias, onto the next killing spree! But NO! No, instead I'm here. I'm here in solitary with you because I made the mistake of not killing the stupid orderlies who pried my hands from Jonathan Crane's scrawny little neck." She hissed angrily, whipping around to face him.

"And why are you here? Why don't you leave? You have before haven't you?" he asked, starring at her as if she were some kind of bug under a microscope.

She smirked at this now but still glared at him.

"Because I have a little unfinished business to take care of…" she said darkly.

"And what type of business would this be?" he asked slyly.

"The type of business that I almost accomplished when I blew up your office." She grinned, sending shivers down even his spine.

She saw this and chuckled slightly.

"What? Don't tell me you didn't know I was the one who tried to kill you." she grinned, grabbing him by t "Don't worry though I'm not going to try that again… I'm going to succeed."

At this Hugo pressed a button and two orderlies came in to take her back to her cell. She smirked at them and then turned her gaze back to Hugo.

"After all… Curiosity kills." She managed as the two escorted her back to her cell.

"Starting with Jonathan…" she thought with a grin but then cast a glance backward down the hallway at Adrian, "Although I might just wait until I can torture him the most…" she laughed, startling the orderlies slightly as they walked past her cell. She gave them a slightly confused look but then looked back to see Jonathan sneering back at her from his cell, dark bruises beginning to appear around his neck.

"Careful, your face will stick." Curiosity smirked back at him.

"You're in a good mood." He noted with a slight frown.

She grinned back at him. "I just told Hugo off AND by the looks of it I'm going to get to kill you and your girlfriend REAL soon."

"REALLY? And why's that?" he asked.

"Because Adrian's about to pop and when she does both of you are going to wish you'd never met each other." She laughed before she was led down the hallway to cell number 138.

She glanced at the cameras around the hall as she was returned to the cell now and realized that several of the cameras were in fact still dummies.

"It figures… the one time I have the opportunity to escape I have business to take care of and I can't leave." She laughed.

Suddenly high pitched laughter joined her and she stopped to look down the hall a few cells down only to see the Joker grinning back at her.

"Good night Haley and… happy birthday." He grinned, "Sweet dreams…" he said darkly before laughing and going back to his bed and lying down.

She glanced at the clock. It was still only 2 A.M.

"Happy birthday to me…" she said quietly, lying down on her bed, staring straight at the ceiling.


	4. Chance

Evil Intent part 4

Chance stood outside the gates of Arkham Asylum, rain pounding at his shoulders and soaking him to the bone. He glared at the building, a blistering hatred forcing away everything else: the rain, the cold, everything.

After a moment he made his way down the west bank of the river that ran between the asylum and the road. He had no intention of letting the guards see him. They would only get in his way. He had business to take care of and he wasn't about to let anyone get between him and his revenge.

He was already soaked to the bone by this point and barely noticed the river other than the fact that the current tugged slightly at his legs as he pulled them onto the shore.

His brown matted hair hung limply across his face as he set out for the building. He remembered something his dad had said to him years ago.

"Keep your head clear and your intentions hidden. If no one is expecting you make sure they haven't a clue you're there until you're ready for them to know your intentions. Never use the front door. If you're seen too early you will never achieve what you intended to do."

His father had been the head of the Silstrung family… until SHE turned against him that is. He'd been the boss, he had owned half the city and more through all his connections and then she came along and took it all away.

He'd only glimpsed her a few times. His father had mentioned that she was one of his most successful business partners and all she wanted in return was an education. He'd been 13 at the time when his father had first hired her. She didn't sleep in their house though. His dad had been smart enough to get her an apartment on the other end of town where she couldn't be traced back to him if she'd gotten sloppy.

The only thing that had REALLY stood out about the girl was her dangerously sharp teeth. She looked to be around his age perhaps a little older but not by much. She was quite a bit shorter than he was however. It was hard to believe at first that she actually worked for his father, that she was one of his most ruthless hit men.

Before he'd known much about her he had even considered her kind of cute. She'd had fiery red hair and big dark green eyes that contrasted well against her fair skin and small features. After a while however her hair had started to grow out and he'd discovered that she wasn't a natural red head but a brunette and that those tiny features that he'd grown so fond of could twist into the features of the killer he knew her to be.

The night she'd killed his father she'd turned the remainder of the family against him. His father evidently hadn't exactly been paying all his debts and when his collectors found out that they would never get a cent out of him they sought to take their vengeance out on the only family he had left.

They'd tried to kill him after his father's funeral, put a gun to his head and forced him to tell them where his father had stored the remainder of his fortune. After he'd told them they attempted to kill him but he'd managed to break away from them before they could do anything.

He felt hollow thinking of this, of how his own uncle had held a gun to his forehead. He shook away the feeling and turned his attention back to the asylum. His dad was right. He needed to keep his head clear if he wanted to succeed. Though his dad had rarely dabbled in revenge he knew plenty about getting what he wanted from people and he'd taught him well.

Unfortunately… he'd also taught HER well.

After tonight however she'd see what his intentions were and it'd be too late for her to stop it…

Curiosity listened to the thrum of the raindrops pounding against the asylum walls. The asylum was quiet for once and the halls silence was eerie. She'd grown used to the sights and sounds of the asylum and tonight nothing could be heard.

She glanced up suddenly at the doorway as the flutter of unearthly wings came to rest on her cell floor. She quirked an eyebrow at the figure, she was used to these dreams but two in one night seemed a little strange.

"Back to torment me again?" she asked the figure callously.

The figure grinned at her with the same set of sharp teeth that she remembered from her last dream. She quickly turned away, not wanting to see her own cold dead face starring back at her.

"Why are you here?" She asked, not turning around but instead lying on the bed.

"Think about it…" the figure hissed sadistically, causing Haley to freeze as she heard the distant sound of a clock ticking once more and the sounds of the asylum slowly returned to normal.

She forced herself to breathe slowly and listen carefully. The figure was gone but the distant echo of footsteps wasn't.

She checked the clock. It was only 3 A.M. The guards weren't due for another hour. She'd memorized their rotations and NO ONE was supposed to be out at 3 A.M.

A chill ran down her spine as the figure's words finally registered.

"Think about it…" It seemed to hiss through her mind.

Her eyes darted back and forth throughout her cell, looking for something she could defend herself with. Hugo had taken all of her knives. She'd been concocting a scheme to get them back but it seemed as if the night she needed them most she wasn't going to be able to retrieve them.

The figure's footsteps were slow, methodical. Whoever was walking down the hall was taking their time; they were looking for something… or rather _someone_.

Could it be Joker? No, Joker wouldn't take as much care in covering his footsteps. If she didn't know any better she would have thought she herself were walking down the desolate halls.

Whoever it was had been trained, and trained WELL. The sound was almost indistinguishable from the other sounds in the asylum and almost overtaken completely by the sound of Penguin's snoring.

She slowly turned to look outside the confines of her cell to look at the figure. The hall was almost pitch black but even in the dim light she recognized the features of someone she knew to be long dead and she quickly pressed her back against the cell wall beneath her window, forcing herself to think clearly.

After a moment she moved and pressed herself into the corner next to the cell door, away from the light and out of direct view from the man as he made his way down the hall.

When the man came to her cell he looked inside to see her bed empty but the cell still locked, he tilted his head slightly and stopped and pressed his head to the bars, much to Haley's dismay.

She held her breath and remained still. When the man's face was better illuminated in the moonlight issuing from the small window Curiosity saw that the man wasn't Jerome. Instead the face of a much younger version of Jerome gazed directly at her… his son: Chance.


	5. Sweating Bullets

Evil Intent part 5

Chance gave her a hungry look that she imagined even a wolf would envy and for once she was glad for the bars separating her from the hallway.

Chance looked into the darkened corner of the cell to see two dark green eyes staring back at him, wide with fear.

He took out a gun now and aimed it at her.

"Show me your teeth." He ordered, cocking the gun.

Curiosity's eyes widened and she breathed deeply; glancing around once more for anything she could use either as a weapon or a shield but came up empty.

"Show me your teeth!" he ordered more forcefully, locking eyes with her and firing a shot into the wall behind her.

She ducked quickly and shoved the bed up in front of her as a shield.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!" she chanted as a bullet whizzed through the fabric next to her.

"Don't you FUCKING hide from me Chloe!" he screamed at her, causing some of the residents to come out and peer through the bars.

Curiosity ducked as another bullet whizzed above her head and another grazed her shoulder.

She was expecting another shot and braced herself for it but instead there was only a strangled silence.

After a long moment Curiosity made her way to the edge of the mattress and peered through the bars to see Joker holding Chance up by the throat, the gun on the floor.

"Shows what you know amateur." He laughed, "First of all what type of idiot brings a gun to get revenge? You shoot them and they're dead. You can't have much fun with a dead girl… well… you might but that's your business." He smirked, "Second, her name isn't Chloe her name's Haley and if anyone around here's going to kill her, it's going to be me." He grinned, shifting his eyes toward Curiosity and grinning maliciously as she locked eyes with him.

"Fuck!" she mentally screamed, ducking behind the mattress once more.

Joker sneered at this and shifted his eyes back onto Chance who was now turning a scarlet red and clawing at his hands.

He gave him a condescending glance and dropped him. Chance sucked in a choking breath and sank to his knees.

Curiosity slowly made her way out from behind the mattress once more to see Joker turn away from Chance and begin to walk away, stopping to cast a glance her way.

"Enjoy your birthday Haley. It'll be your last." He laughed hysterically, stepping on Chance's hand and snapping his wrist as he reached for the gun once more.

Chance howled in pain and several guards finally began to make their way down the hall after them and restrained Joker, assuming he was responsible for the gunfire they had heard.

Chance didn't say anything but simply glared at her as he was taken to the medical wing by two guards.

After the guards had left Haley collapsed and hugged her knees to her chest.

How could he have found her…? She'd moved to a new town, changed her name, changed her appearance, changed her IDENTITY and he'd still managed to find her… His words seemed to echo through her thoughts:

"Show me your teeth!"

She slowly reached up and felt the sharp points she'd grown so used to. Her picture had been on the news…

Every enemy she'd ever made and not killed could find her now…

She stared straight ahead at nothing in particular for what seemed like hours until the orderlies came to check on her to make sure she was alright a few minutes later.

She didn't even look at them as they fussed over her shoulder wound and led her to the medical wing.

When they'd made their way just outside the doors to the medical wing she stopped and stared at the door, realizing for the first time who would be behind it.

When they tugged at her arms and attempted to force her to move she stood as still as a statue and looked up at them with a lost expression that for once befitted her childish demeanor.

"He's in there." She said in a hoarse whisper that was intended more for herself than it was the orderlies but they answered anyway.

"Joker's been taken back to solitary. He won't be bothering you anymore." The man behind her said, attempting to reassure her.

"Not Joker…" She said quietly, "Chance." She whispered, suddenly whipping from their grasp and dashing down the hall behind them.

The orderlies seemed surprised at this but after a moment began to chase her back down the hall.

She'd almost rounded the corner when she collided head on with Hugo and scrambled back away from him quickly.

"No, no, no, no, no…" she chanted as the orderlies grabbed her shoulders once more in a slightly tighter grip, "I need my knives… I need them!" she yelled, reaching out to shake him by the shoulders.

"Sorry sir, this won't happen again. We've just had an incident. It appears Joker escaped from his cell, shots were fired, and another man is in the hospital wing at the moment." The second orderly explained.

Hugo looked down at Haley and noticed her shoulder was bleeding.

"And Miss Riler was caught in the crossfire?" he asked calmly.

"It appears she was the target sir. Her cell was shot to pieces. We were just about to escort her to the medical wing when she took off." He explained.

"I see… and you're sure that the Joker was responsible?" he asked.

"Not Joker." Haley said quietly, "…Chance."

Dr. Strange gave her a look now that seemed to be a mix of his analyzing nature and annoyance with something.

"And just who is this Chance?" he asked skeptically, "I was under the assumption that the Joker wanted you dead. If this "Chance" was the one who was trying to kill you then why is he in the hospital wing when the Joker was involved?"

Curiosity was silent for a long moment and the orderlies started to drag her back to the medical wing once more before she spoke.

"They both want me dead. The only difference is that Joker doesn't want some "amateur" getting trigger happy when he thinks he should be the one to kill me. I'm not sure how Chance feels about things… I haven't seen him in 4 years." She said, trying to speak as calmly as she could, attempting to clear her head.

Hugo seemed to accept this but continued on.

"And may I ask why this "Chance" wants to kill you?" he asked.

At this she gave him a flat look.

"Take a guess. I'm sure it won't take you long to put it together… well it might take YOU a little longer to figure it out but to any other half-wit psychiatrist it should be pretty obvious." She said a little more confidently, starting to get over the initial shock.

Hugo seemed to realize he wasn't going to get any more information out of her now and gave the orderlies a nod.

"Take her to medical." He ordered.

To this she stopped in her tracks and grounded her feet as best she could, glaring at Hugo.

"Are you crazy? The guy just tried to KILL me and your plan is to send me straight TO him!" she exclaimed.

To this Hugo stopped and turned toward her and lowered his face to hers.

"That's how I take care of business…" he smirked, stepping back and walking away from her.

Curiosity stood aghast at this as the orderlies gripped her arms and attempted to drag her back again. She quickly crossed her arms and bit down at the junction where their arms met.

They quickly dropped her arms and she bolted down the hall adjacent to the medical wing and ran into Gabe.

"Move!" she shouted, attempting to shove him aside as he tried to block her, "Gabe! MOVE! Strange has finally lost it!" she pleaded, "If you don't move I'm going to have no choice but to hurt you so move NOW!" she ordered, glancing behind her at the two orderlies who were now gaining on her.

Gabe glanced at her and then to the two orderlies behind her, looking unsure of himself but held her firm.

Curiosity's eyes went wide and she ducked under his arm and ran for the garbage chute down the hall as fast as she could, pulling on it hard only to find that a new access card reader rested along the side of the chute and that it wouldn't budge no matter how hard she pulled.

She glanced behind her to find the orderlies were pulling her away from the chute from behind.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…" she chanted, holding onto the handle for dear life and kicking at them before her fingers finally slipped from the handle and she went flying backwards into them.

"Come on… You know this isn't right! Take me back to my cell! I won't fight you. Just take me somewhere else!" she pleaded as they fought to restrain her on a gurney, "I… I have the right to refuse medical treatment don't I?"

At this the two looked at one another with a sort of uncertainty that gave her hope.

"It's just a flesh wound anyway. I'll be fine! Just PLEASE take me back to my cell." She pleaded as the gurney pulled up to the door of the medical wing.

The first orderly finally looked at her and spoke.

"You gave up that right when you entered the asylum. Since you were deemed unfit to hold any form of responsibility like that the power was given to your psychiatrist. Your current psychiatrist is Adrian Davis. Would you like me to clear things with her first?" he asked, clearly feeling bad for her but not enough to risk his career.

Curiosity quickly agreed and it wasn't until after he'd left that she realized just what he'd meant.

Adrian ultimately decided whether she was going to live or die and she was going to have to beg her not to send her in there. She was going to have to convince the woman whom she'd threatened on numerous occasions that her boss had finally cracked and was essentially trying to kill her.

"Do you know why now?" a figure asked her from behind, laying a hand on her shoulder and sending chills down her spine.

She slowly turned her head to see the grinning dead face of the Memitim next to her and her heart nearly stopped.

"You… you… you…" she stammered, staring at the figure in front of her, "It can't be!" she made out in a hoarse whisper.

The figure grinned at her now.

"I've got news for you Haley… this time, you're not dreaming." It laughed.


	6. Crazy

Evil Intent part 6

"No, I have to be dreaming. One of the orderlies must have given me a sedative…" she reasoned, "There's no way you're real." She said more confidently though the figure continued to grin at her through pointed teeth.

"What's wrong? You've been trying to kill Haley for years. You knew this was coming… You've cheated me time and time again. Now it's time for you to pay the price..." It grinned, raising its scythe and arching it down toward her neck before Adrian walked up and the figure disappeared as if it were smoke.

Neither of the orderlies seemed to have noticed anything and Adrian seemed just as confused to see her babbling to herself.

Haley looked over at Adrian, for once relieved to see her.

"Adrian, will you tell these idiots that I don't need medical treatment? I'm fine. He only nicked my shoulder." She pleaded in a rush.

Adrian gave her a strange look.

"You didn't hit your head or anything?" she asked uncertainly.

"No, I'm fine. Hugo's gone off the deep end. The bastard is trying to get me killed. The guy that just shot at me is in the medical wing and I know his dad taught him better than to stick to plan A and hope it works." She explained.

Adrian looked at the other two orderlies and dismissed them with a nod that said she had things under control.

"And why should I believe you over Hugo when he says you hit your head pretty hard and you were just talking to yourself?" she asked skeptically.

"Why else would I be asking YOU for help?" she shot back defensively.

Adrian looked at her for a long moment before wheeling her away from the wing and back toward solitary.

"I won't take you back to your cell after it's been shot to pieces but I will take you back to solitary. Something tells me you need some time alone anyway." She said.

Curiosity began to sweat at this.

"Fine, at least give me my knives then." She said adamantly, "I'm going to need them."

"And why in the HELL would I do that?" Adrian demanded, stopping to glare at Curiosity, "So you can go off and kill someone? I don't think so." She said, wheeling the gurney up to solitary once more.

"Talk about Zen…" she muttered as they approached solitary, "Except I'm not sure where the strawberry's at."

"What are you muttering about?" Adrian asked, quirking an eyebrow at her and stopping outside the doors.

"The Tiger and the Strawberry by Zen. Basically no matter what you do you're dead and there's supposed to be some small mercy like the rosebush outside the prison in the Scarlet Letter or the strawberry in Zen's story but so far I haven't seen anything close to a strawberry or a rose." She explained tiredly.

"Chance is in the medical wing and he just tried to shoot me as many times as he could and Joker's in solitary because he saved me from Chance so he'd have the pleasure of killing me himself. I'm not seeing any strawberries in this." She explained further not fully expecting Adrian to understand what she meant.

Instead she nodded and began wheeling her away from solitary.

"I see your problem." Adrian started.

"You do?" Curiosity asked, amazed that she had somehow avoided both solitary and the medical wing.

Adrian nodded. "You're not seeing any strawberries or roses because you're not dying. I'm taking you back to your cell next to Zai. You can thank me later but if you try anything funny after my baby's born you're going to regret it." She warned before opening the cell door and locking her inside.

Curiosity smiled gratefully at her now as she started to walk away.

"Hey Adrian?" she called back to her and Adrian turned around to face her.

"Thanks." She said, sincere for once.

Adrian smiled slightly now and looked at her shoulder before turning away.

"You might want to take care of that. It looks pretty deep." She said, walking away from her.

Curiosity looked down at her shoulder and saw that it was a bit deeper than she'd originally thought it was and quickly made use of the sink in her cell to wash it out, ripping a strip of cloth from the mattress to bandage the wound with.

It stung slightly but she was glad for it. It kept her focused, awake, and it reminded her that she was in fact still alive after everything that had happened.

After a few minutes she lied down on her bed and shifted her hands beneath her head and Zai made her way over to the wall they shared.

"Curiosity?" she called through the wall quietly.

Curiosity lay on the bed for a moment more before sliding her feet over the side and walking over to the wall.

"Yeah?" She answered quietly.

"What were you talking about with Adrian?" she asked, careful to keep her volume low so that they wouldn't wake Jonathan in the cell next door.

Curiosity hesitated a moment before answering.

"It's a REALLY long story… Someone I met a long time ago came back for a visit." she started, trying to play things down a bit, "He came all the way from Caldsville Illinois… let's just say he wasn't too happy with me." She said quickly, trying to get Zai to drop the subject but unfortunately she didn't.

"What happened?" she asked worriedly and Curiosity sighed.

"It's a long story. Let's just leave it at that." She said, trying to avoid the subject.

"All we have is time in here. Tell me what happened." Zai demanded, concerned.

Curiosity looked up at the clock and watched as a few seconds ticked by.

"Not always…" she said quietly, remembering the Memitim's scythe arching down toward her.

An icy chill ran up her spine at the thought of this and she shook her head as if it would shake away the memory and sighed in defeat.

"His name's Chance. I used to work for his dad a long time ago and when his dad decided that what I did for him wasn't enough I killed him. Chance seems a little bitter about that. He tried to shoot me a couple times and nicked my shoulder. He probably would have killed me if Joker hadn't come by. He wasn't too happy about Chance trying to kill me with a gun because he thinks that's HIS job and he doesn't think just shooting me is any fun. I don't really want to think about what HE has planned for me." She explained quietly, sitting down on the floor and leaning against the wall.

"Chance is in the medical wing now and Joker's in solitary. Hugo tried to have me sent to the medical wing with Chance because I threatened him earlier and I assume he wanted to prove a point… Adrian intervened though and was about to take me to solitary but somehow I convinced her to bring me here instead." She explained solemnly but then laughed uneasily to try and break the tension, "I told you it was a long story."

Zai was quiet for a moment and Curiosity began to get a little worried.

"Zai?" she asked.

"I don't know who this Chance guy is but Joker's not going to hurt you. I'll make sure of it." She said in a way that made her nervous that Zai was going to try something that was going to get her hurt somehow.

"No, you're not. This is my business and I'll deal with it by myself. I wish I hadn't told you about it. I SHOULDN'T have told you about it. Just leave it alone. I'll handle it." She said obstinately.

Zai seemed frustrated with her answer and she walked back to her bed and lay down.

Curiosity sighed and went back to her own bed.

"Trust me, it's better this way." She thought silently as she drifted off to sleep.


	7. Why I Am

Evil Intent part 7

Curiosity awoke to the dim light filtering in from her window and touched her shoulder tenderly. It didn't hurt as much as it ached now and she got up and stretched. She glanced at the window and half wondered if she were in fact still dreaming and pinched herself.

She sat in awe of what had happened in just the past few hours. Someone had tried to kill her, someone was planning to torture and kill her, and she'd practically begged for help. Something she NEVER did under any circumstance.

She punched the wall angrily and closed her eyes.

"What happened: happened. But I'm not going to cry…"

She could still hear her own words…

After the accident that killed her mother her father had tried to explain to her what had happened, trying to put things in terms that a child would understand but found it impossible not to cry in the process. She'd known very well what had happened. She'd been in the car, she'd seen the other car run the red light and slam into the driver's side, and seen what had become of her mother… afterwards.

Still she hadn't cried. She had listened in silence to her father's explanation, not looking at him. At that moment she hadn't felt 6 years old and she still had no idea how she seemed to find the words that had shocked and comforted her father in such a way.

"You act as if she's gone…" she had started slowly, evenly.

Her father had tried to wrap his arms around her but she had glared at him when he tried this and shoved them away.

"She's not! She's never going to leave us! Sure… she may never be able to make us soup anymore or kiss us goodnight…" she said somberly, "But we're going to remember her! I'm not going to let her leave! She wasn't that "thing" in the car! She will never BE that thing in the car! She's always going to be mom and mom's not gone! What happened: happened. I'm not going cry. Mom didn't cry and you shouldn't either. She wouldn't want you to." She'd said adamantly.

She suddenly felt a little guilty. She HAD forgotten her mother once… She had remembered that she'd had a mother and the memory of their dancing together with her father laughing at them but she HAD forgotten. Even under the circumstances she felt more guilt over that than actually killing her foster parents. They'd deserved what they'd gotten, her mother hadn't. She took a deep breath and held it with a determined glare at the wall.

"Things may be bad but there's no way in HELL I'm giving up. If they think they can turn me into a frightened 6 year old they're wrong. I've never been a scared little girl and I never will be. If they want me dead I'm going fight them every god damned step of the way. They're going to be sorry they ever messed with me."

She turned sharply when she heard footsteps coming down the hall. Two orderlies and a man with jet black hair with white streaks continued past her cell with Batman in suit. The man was unconscious and from the looks of it he was also heavily sedated.

His strong aquiline features drew her attention. He clearly wasn't from Gotham. He seemed to be of more Arabic nationality than anything else.

"Terry Gene Kase has been diagnosed with multi-personality disorder and is being placed here to serve his life sentence under Chief Rojas' orders." Batman explained in his monotone voice.

"Life sentence huh…" Curiosity mused, "I wonder why HE'S here. He doesn't look like much but then you should never trust first impressions." She thought to herself.

Batman glanced briefly in her direction and she smiled at him, barring her teeth slightly.

"Hello Brucie boy…" she whispered ominously at him as he passed.

He'd locked her in this hell hole 8 times since Christmas and she was less than pleased with him at the moment. She wasn't about to reveal his secret. She could care less for the publicity over that. She merely liked to torture him with the knowledge that she knew and that she could, if she wanted to, reveal his secret to the world.

Batman gave her a dark glare to which she gave him a satisfied smirk and leaned against the wall.

It was nice to see him for a change despite her current predicament. It got her mind off of things and allowed her to think up fantastic ways to torture him and anyone else she so chose rather than her impending demise and questionable sanity.

The unconscious man shifted slightly at the mention of this and Curiosity wondered briefly if he'd heard what she'd said. She was surprised however to see that the dark knight wasn't in the least bit concerned as to whether or not the man had heard her and simply allowed the orderlies to wheel him into a nearby cell.

"Be sure to administer his medication on the hour. He can be quite violent." He warned before disappearing without as much as another word.

The orderlies nodded and left the man on the bed in his new cell.

Curiosity put a finger to her lips and wondered why Batman would take an interest in a transfer when he clearly had bigger issues to deal with when Clayface was still on the loose.

She waited until she could no longer hear the orderlies' footsteps and then decided to indulge her curiosity, sucking in a deep breath before squeezing herself through the bars. She'd have to remember this for later. It wasn't easy and it hurt but it was certainly easier to escape this way than to wait for an orderly to come by and steal their keys… after mutilating them first.

"Who are you?" she asked suspiciously, venturing up to the man's cell as he groggily came to.

The man smiled at her and she took in his striking green eyes and deep eye sockets as he took in her deep green ones. They both seemed to be studying one another…

"You may call me Ra's al Ghul. And might I ask what your name might be?" he asked in a very proper tone of voice.

She smiled at him and showed him her teeth.

"Curiosity... Is there any particular reason why our dear detective is taking such precautions to keep your identity a secret Mr. Ghul?" she asked, leaning against the wall near his cell, watching the cameras that she knew to be dummies.

The man smiled at this as if it were slightly amusing.

"There is." He replied simply, "And might I ask how you know him to be Mr. Wayne?" he asked with a curtly smile.

"I spent a little time in the trunk of Mr. Wayne's car and found something he didn't wish me to see. A few others know as well thanks to the Joker." She explained in a serious tone, reflecting on her experience in the trunk with Adrian.

"And who might this "Joker" be?" he asked.

Curiosity gave him an amused smirk.

"One of the most dangerous men in Gotham city. He's down the hall a bit. You'll probably hear him laughing by the end of the hour. He's the reason I'm no longer a brunette." She explained, gesturing to her hair and revealing her teeth in a slight scowl.

"Now that I've answered your questions would you mind answering mine please?" she asked in a serious but respectful tone. She got the feeling that he thought himself to be very proper and the last thing she wanted to do was piss off another rouge.

He smirked at this. "I already have answered your question. You see, you asked me if there was any particular reason why the Detective took such pains to conceal my identity. You did not ask why he did so. However, being that you answered two of my questions I will grant you the information you seek. The detective seeks to imprison me here under heavy medication so that I may not carry out my duties as leader of my organization and cleanse this city."

"Curiosity is an interesting name. I suppose you chose it yourself. Why, might I ask?" he asked, changing the subject quickly and looking on at her with a slight interest.

Curiosity smiled wanly at this.

"Usually people skip straight to the teeth…" she remarked with a slight smile, "I AM Curiosity. It's a very difficult thing to describe why you are who you are. However I'll tell you what you need to know to understand. I had no idea who I was… or rather who I used to be… up until recently. I remembered what had put me in the Hell hole I escaped from and a few very brief good memories but for the longest time I was in the dark. At first I chose the name Rosaline, a character that is at first loved and adored but then swiftly cast aside and forgotten about. The world had turned its back on me it seemed and left me to spend my life caged in the cellar of a couple whose achievements in life overpowered whatever supposed wrongs they could do in the community's eyes. I wanted to escape, wanted to see if the world had truly forsaken me or if it had only forgotten about me." She started, taking her eyes off of him and staring at the wall in front of her but not really looking at it, "After I escaped and burned them alive in their own prison I still had no idea who I was and so I kept the name, finding my way to the nearest town. I was taken in by a religious woman with a daughter who was too curious for her own good. She eventually found out about the fire and attempted to kill me, thinking I was a monster that deserved to burn in Hell." She smirked at this as if it were funny but didn't laugh and merely frowned at the last part.

"I killed her and the friends that had helped her try to kill me and ended up in the hospital of a nearby town with a lacerated liver. When the police questioned me about my name this time I felt Rosaline was no longer appropriate. The world couldn't forget about me now. After all… I was responsible for the deaths of 8 of their "finest" citizens. I told them my name was Chloe Form; the police didn't question this but wished for me to meet them at the station after I was released from the hospital. Not wanting to pay the police a visit I took what clothes I could find in the Hospital's lost and found and was on my way for the subway. Upon meeting a man on the train however I began working for the mob. Killing their people wasn't a problem for me. I'd killed before and the scum they paid me to kill were often drunk of high by the time I found them. The money they paid me went toward my education and I achieved my bachelor's degree in Biology with a minor in psychology. I was almost content with my work, seeing what I had accomplished. I had been ridding the world of scum and earning my education at the same time. However my curiosity got the best of me and I looked into some of the cases I had taken care of. It seemed I had killed innocent people who had gotten on my boss's hit list for standing trial against some of his men. When I confronted him about it however he had the audacity to lie about it. He was drunk and I wasn't buying anything he was saying. He called me a curious little thing and asked me if I was curious about something else." She said with a bit more venom in her words, "I told him I was a lured him in before cutting off every one of his appendages. His son unfortunately caught me in the act and I ran, shocked at what I had become. I had taken parents from their children just as the men who shot my father had taken mine from me. I AM Curiosity. Curiosity kills, deprives the innocent of their innocence, and though it isn't a sin in itself, it eventually becomes one if you aren't careful. I don't kill children who are still innocent of what the world truly is. Everyone else deserves it in one way or another, either in euthanasia or punishment depends upon what they've done with their life." She finished, looking him in the eyes now.

"And which would it be to yourself, euthanasia or punishment?" he asked, quirking his head in interest.

She grew very serious now. "Punishment." She replied honestly.

"You're very honest." He noted, "Not many people would willingly offer up so much information about themselves on a request."

She merely shrugged at this and stood up. "Curiosity isn't a sin in itself. If you aren't careful it could be however." She said, flashing her teeth as a reminder.

He seemed to be taking in her words now and she eyed her empty cell, watching for the orderly who would be coming around in the next five to ten minutes.

"We might want to continue this conversation later. As you can see I'm not in my cell and although these cameras are dummies the orderlies are smart enough to know that if I'm not in my cell they need to lock all the exits and sound the alarm." She noted, making her way down the hall to her cell and sliding back inside. She wasn't about to leave Zai in Arkham with Joker while she escaped and she felt she might have a more interesting conversation with this "Ra's Al Ghul" during rec time.


	8. Poison Comfort

Evil Intent part 8

Curiosity slipped into her cell just in time for Hugo to round the corner and smirk slightly at her. She glared heatedly at him and revealed her teeth slowly as if she were a wild animal ready to attack at any given moment.

He waved the orderlies next to him away and stopped in front of her cell.

"You must be very persuasive… Miss. Davis isn't one to do patients favors. Might I ask what you told her?" he asked evenly.

"The truth." She growled, her eyes never leaving him.

"I see… Then you told her that I wished for you to receive medical treatment?" He asked casually, "And she ignored my request?"

"You tried to have me killed." She hissed lowly.

Hugo glanced up at the ceiling now calmly and it looked as if he might actually laugh but he didn't.

"Did I? Is looking out for your wellbeing now a crime?" he asked lightly, as if they were talking about the weather rather than her life, "Your friend has been released by the way… He refused medical treatment as well and because there was no footage of the incident and the testimonies of mentally ill patients aren't considered credible we couldn't hold him when evidence suggested the Joker was responsible." He said offhandedly with a grin.

"What "evidence"? How can there be any evidence that Joker did it when I know for a fact that Chance did it?" she demanded angrily.

"The Joker has a long history of violence and Mr. Form is a cook here at Arkham." He said simply, "The gun used is also the same kind the Joker shot a news reporter with two months ago as well."

"Here at…" she almost choked, growing pale, "Arkham?"

Hugo smiled now. "Here at Arkham." He confirmed, "Your breakfast will be ready in a few hours… I suggest you get some rest before it arrives." He smirked, turning to leave, "Good night Miss. Riler." He said with a smirk and left.

Curiosity sat down on the bed, thinking for a long time before an orderly finally came by with her breakfast and she poked at it distractedly, taking a few bites and then sending it back. Arkham's eggs were barely edible, rubbery blobs but they were much better than the macaroni.

After the orderly left she leaned up against the wall of her cell and slid down, hugging her knees in thought. She quickly jumped away from the spot however when she felt an icy hand on her shoulder.

"What in the Hell…" she started in shock but then looked up at the figure and stopped short, "Shit…"

The figure grinned broadly at her and spread its wings, filling her cell and looming down over her with the scythe tucked under her chin menacingly.

She swallowed and laughed uneasily.

"Don't you have someone else to kill? Maybe someone that's ALREADY dying?" she asked as the blade got a bit closer to her throat.

"Nope." It said, dropping its hood as she backed up as far as she could from the blade.

Curiosity breathed heavily now and kept her eyes locked on the blade, seeing the reflection in the blade and feeling as if she were going to puke. After a long moment she shifted her eyes up to meet the figure's gaze and it smiled at her before arching the blade back sharply for a strike.

Curiosity's eyes widened when she saw this and she quickly ducked as the blade lodged in the concrete behind her, narrowly missing her head. She gasped and attempted to grasp the blade but found her hands only slid through it like smoke and it disappeared along with the figure, leaving her confused and frightened.

Suddenly something clicked as she remembered something Hugo said. Chance was a COOK here at Arkham and she'd eaten before she saw the Memitim each time. The first time could've been a coincidence being that it was on her birthday but things seemed to be getting progressively more frightening each time she saw it and it wasn't staying in her nightmares any more when before it had only been a really bad reoccurring nightmare. The second time was probably a combination of the adrenaline already in her system and whatever was in the food because it was slightly more terrifying.

She thought for a moment about why the last time had been so much more powerful than the last and came up with nothing until it hit her. Chance had been looking for her that night. He'd been looking through the cells to see which was hers. Was it possible that he'd put a low dose in the mix for the macaroni for this hallway and then after he'd found her put a more concentrated dose in hers?

She considered this for a moment but decided that if it wasn't true and she WAS actually seeing a Memitim that wanted to kill her she was probably dead anyway or in the very least out of her mind.

As for the "poison" Chance was using. She had a feeling she knew who it belonged to…

She turned to the bars of her cell and leaned there, staring at Jonathan for a moment before he glanced up from his book to see her tapping her fingers impatiently against the wall.

"Oh, Jonny boy… have you been seeing any new customers lately?" she asked, staring intently at him.

Jonathan sat his book on the bed now and came to the bars, "Possibly… Why? Do you want some? Because if that's the case don't worry about the money. I'll give it to you for free." He smirked.

Curiosity glared at him, "I'm sure you would…" she muttered, "Your new customer's name is Chance isn't it?" she asked.

He smirked at this and leaned against the wall. "Yes." He confirmed, "I take it you know him?"

Curiosity's eye twitched slightly at the statement. "Yeah, you could say that. How much did you sell him?"

"Sorry, doctor patient confidentiality." He said, hissing slightly before he said this as if he were truly bound by law and wished he could tell her but couldn't.

Curiosity rolled her eyes. "Whatever, he's poisoning you just so you know." She said offhandedly, sitting down on her bed.

He scoffed at this, "No, haven't you heard? I'm on a diet, no eggs and macaroni for me! As if I'd eat it anyway." He said dryly.

Curiosity's face turned bright red with rage now and she envisioned performing a vivisection on him with a dull knife and he backed up from the bars, knowing far too well what the look meant.

"You better back up." She growled lowly, "If you knew what I was thinking about right now you'd back up right through that brick wall."

"What are you thinking about?" he asked casually as if she didn't frighten him in the least bit.

This irritated her slightly but then she grinned.

"My specialty… Think dull knives and an autopsy table. Vivisection is actually VERY relaxing… well… for me at least. I don't really pick you for the masochistic type. I'd have to make sure to bring a roll of duck tape though…" She grinned, "As much as I'd like to hear you scream like a little girl I wouldn't want Bats to interrupt us before the real fun started." She laughed.

Jonathan blinked at this and stared for a moment.

She smirked, satisfied with the dumbfounded look on his face and laid down on her bed.

"No, shows for Scarecrows, I'm not eating anymore of that poisoned shit so you better find some other way to entertain yourself than by having Chance do your dirty work and watching the fireworks." She said offhandedly, smiling and closing her eyes before rolling over and attempting to fall asleep. Somehow knowing that she was only being poisoned comforted her and she fell asleep after only a few minutes.


	9. The Worst Thing That Could Happen

Evil Intent part 9

Curiosity fell asleep to the sound of rain beating against the walls of the asylum. The wind howled just outside and Zai sat wide awake in the cell next door, thinking.

Curiosity may not want her help but she obviously needed it. She wondered briefly how she could sleep so easily knowing someone, let alone so many people, wanted her dead. The uncertainty in itself had to be maddening. Although she supposed when you lived on your own long enough thinking the world hated you eventually you would stop caring whether they did or not.

Suddenly all the lights went out and they were plunged into utter darkness as the storm raged on outside.

Curiosity sat up bolt right and was on her feet in an instant as a streak of lightning pierced the sky and thunder boomed through the asylum.

After a moment the emergency red lights came on and she was at the bars looking around suspiciously.

Zai took that last part back. Maybe she wasn't such a deep sleeper after all.

"Relax the power just went out." She said reassuringly and Curiosity cast her gaze over to her.

"I know. That's what I'm worried about. Chance is loose and it's a million times easier to kill someone if they don't see it coming." She explained, talking more to herself than to Zai before deciding on something and beginning to work on squeezing her way through the bars once more and turning to Zai.

"Do you think you can squeeze through to or should I go find some keys?" she asked quietly, glancing around to make sure no one was around.

Zai nodded and attempted to duplicate Curiosity's actions, getting stuck only once before finally making her way out as well.

"Nice." Curiosity noted, nodding approvingly before grabbing Zai's hand and beginning to pull her along behind her before remembering Zai didn't like being touched and letting go as if her hand were a hot potato.

"Sorry, forgot." She whispered apologetically before waving her arm in the direction she was headed and dashing off looking for an exit.

"Why don't we just use the trash chute like last time?" Zai asked, stopping.

"There's a card reader on it now. They evidently got wise and upped their security clearance." She said offhandedly before searching once more.

"But the power's out." Zai pointed out, "The card reader isn't going to work if the power's out."

Curiosity stopped and thought about this.

"Good point… It's worth a shot I suppose. The worst that could happen is it's locked and someone catches us." She said, not stopping to let herself think about this last part.

Zai ran after her toward the trash chute and almost rammed into her when she stopped abruptly. She almost spoke up to ask her why she stopped but then realized why she had stopped and looked at the figure in front of them.

Chance looked down at his nail casually, leaning against the trash chute handle.

"I see you must not like my cooking." He smirked at her, taking Curiosity in from head to toe, "Nice hair. Playing make believe again I see. Pretending to be this "Haley" so you can ruin someone else's life?" he asked bitterly.

Curiosity glared at him.

"No, for once I'm not pretending to be anything." She growled, "As for my hair, you can ask the clown about how that happened. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to both tell you and then kill you for trying this again."

Chance smirked at her and then looked at Zai.

"Who's your friend? Does she know what you've done or did you forget to mention the tiny detail of your being the heartless little witch that killed my father in front of me and turned my whole family against me? How about the fact that you've killed how many people? Got to be over a hundred now right?" he asked with a fierce glare, approaching her slightly.

Curiosity backed up a little but for the most part stood her ground, looking him in the eyes.

"She knows." She said curtly, "And you know I didn't mean for things to happen that way. Your dad crossed a line and there was no way I was going to let him get away with that." She said hotly.

Chance advanced on her a little more this time and started to circle her a bit.

"And what "line" did he cross exactly? You knew what he hired you for and you did it anyway. It wasn't his fault you suddenly decided to grow a conscience." He hissed.

Curiosity gave Zai a look that said for her to run but she didn't and she glared at her slightly before turning her attention back to Chance.

"You don't know the whole story." She snarled back at him.

"Really? And just what IS the whole story hmm? Let me guess… you're an innocent little girl scout with a heart of gold who was forced to kill dozens of people by my big mean father who was drunk half the time." He snapped sarcastically.

"I don't care less for your little sob story. It doesn't change what you did. You robbed me of everything I had; family, possessions, a place to live, the girl I loved, EVERYTHING." He growled darkly and then smiled sadistically, pulling a knife from his jacket pocket, examining it slightly in the dim red light before looking at her once more, "I think I'm going to take the clown's advice. Guns aren't very effective for revenge. I tried to poison you, gave you huge doses of that "fear toxin" shit the good doctor down the hall sold me, tried to make you scream your lungs out until you had a heart attack as I watched the security cameras but no, you just won't die will you? You're still alive and the damn cameras are fucking dummies. What a prestigious asylum, they can't even keep their damn cameras working." He cursed but then smiled, "I'm rather glad my plan failed now though. Now I can have the satisfaction of killing you with your own knives slowly without having to worry about the idiots down in the security office calling the cops on me." He laughed darkly, throwing a glance Zai's way.

"Or maybe I'll take away the person YOU care about most first and _then_ kill you." he laughed, advancing on Zai this time.

Zai backed up slightly and Curiosity stepped in front of her before sending a kick straight for Chance's crotch.

Chance took advantage of this however and grabbed her leg and slammed her into the wall behind him, pressing her face to the cool cement.

"That was stupid." He smirked before driving the knife into her shoulder blade sharply, "Since when have I ever killed an innocent person to prove a point?" he asked as she screamed in pain.

"NO!" Zai screamed.

He quickly ripped the blade from her shoulder and raised his arm for another strike before he suddenly felt the air rush out of him as Zai tackled him to the floor, attempting to wrestle the blade from his hand.

Chance quickly shoved her off of him and advanced on her now angrily.

"You little…" he started before suddenly collapsing as Curiosity sent a round house kick to the back of his head.

"Shit that hurt…" she hissed, clutching her shoulder before turning to Zai, "Are you alright?" she asked, grudgingly letting go of her shoulder to help her up with her good arm.

"I'm fine." Zai said quickly, looking at her shoulder, "He stabbed you and you're actually asking if I'm ok?"

Curiosity smiled wryly. "It's certainly not the first time I've been stabbed." She laughed but then decided it was in bad taste and stopped, deciding to clutch her shoulder once again as another wave of pain hit her, "Mind if we get out of here soon? I'm not exactly the masochistic type and Chance is going to be ticked when he…" she started, looking down at the ground to find that he was gone.

"Shit…" she said quietly, her throat suddenly dry.

Zai looked down and saw what she meant and quickly pulled the trash chute open for her and then hopped in after her.

Curiosity hissed in anticipation. "This is going to hurt." She said before they both met the dumpster hard.

"This REALLY isn't my week." She hissed, not wanting to move for a moment before getting back up and hoisting herself over the side of the dumpster, blood covering her hand and sleeve now.


	10. Always Watching

Evil Intent party 10

Chance grinned and took off for the kitchen, slamming straight into Joker before springing back to his feet and glaring at the harlequin.

"Not again…" he muttered in exasperation, "I'm in a LITTLE bit of a hurry at the moment so if you could kindly fuck off and let me pass it'd be greatly appreciated." He said with a growl when Joker wouldn't move out of his way.

Joker laughed at this. "You have no idea who you're talking to do you?" he asked with a murderous glint in his eyes.

"A jester who's on my last nerve at the moment and who for some reason or another doesn't want me to kill the girl that he wants dead to." He shot back with a dark glare.

Joker pinned him up against the wall now and grinned.

"Funny… Let me show you something ELSE that's funny." He said, yanking the blade from Chance's hand, "Hmmm… Mimes are funny! Let's see if you make a good Mime." He laughed, trying to wrench Chance's jaw open far enough to cut his tongue out.

Chance saw this coming however and bit down hard on Joker's hand before swinging his revolver out and firing a shot at the clown's shoulder and managing only to graze it.

"Don't mess with me clown. If I didn't have other places to be I'd stick around and make you look like Swiss cheese." He threatened fervently as he took off through the kitchen doors and out into the parking lot.

Joker glared at him as he left and ran over to the window near Strange's office and looked down at the parking lot as Chance hopped into the first car door he could pry open. As soon as he'd hopped in the driver's seat however Joker landed directly on the hood of the car and smashed the windshield in.

"Damn it clown! What's your problem?" he shouted in outrage before ducking out of the car and making a run for it out of the parking lot toward the gates.

"Stop the clown!" he shouted to the guards at the gates, flashing his cook ID before rushing passed them.

As soon as he said this however Joker tackled him to the ground and raised a fist to work on shattering Chance's jaw.

The guards fired a tranquilizer into Joker's shoulder but not in time to save Chance from a strong blow to the jaw.

Chance rubbed his jaw sorely when he got up and began insulting the guards' incompetence up and down angrily for a good minute and a half before storming out of the asylum gates and finding "his" motorcycle down the road.

The guards muttered mute protests as he left, gathering Joker up and pulling him back toward the asylum through the now pouring rain.

Curiosity and Zai watched the guards until they'd left with Joker and quickly raced up to the gate. They were just about to cross the bridge when Curiosity spun around and ducked into the guard's station and came out with two guns.

"I hate guns but considering the circumstances I think we're going to need them just in case." She said, tossing Zai a gun before tucking the other one in the seat of her pants under her shirt and taking off at a run for her house.

Chance cruised to a stop in an alley three blocks south of the asylum and saw an old lady with a plaid skirt and a high bun leaning against the wall casually.

"I see you got my message." Chance said, casually strolling up to the old woman and tossing a wad of cash at her.

The woman's face instantly melted into a gray twisted shape with neon green eyes and Clayface absorbed the money after briefly counting it.

"You've been keeping an eye on her I trust?" He asked, crossing his arms and leaning against the opposite wall of the alleyway.

"I have and quite frankly if you weren't paying me I'd kill her myself. However seeing as you've been after her for some time and she hasn't been near Yin since December I'm willing to cooperate so long as it's done." Clayface said in a wet, almost inhuman voice.

Chance looked up at him nonchalantly.

"Then I'd kill the clown and neither of us would be satisfied with our revenge. Although considering his behavior you're both lucky I didn't. I would have had her at the asylum if he hadn't intervened." He said with a cool stare.

"She's staying at 1003 Mountain Drive. The place is covered in Christmas decorations. She goes for a walk every once in a while after she escapes and comes home after midnight with blood stained clothes and a grin. Never goes in the front door, always through the back. There's a fake rock in the garden next to the door with a key in it. She's lucky the place hasn't been robbed. No booby traps around back and although I've never seen her enter through the front door there don't seem to be any traps around the front." Clayface reported.

"Old habits die hard…" Chance mused and Clayface gave him an odd look but said nothing, "She's cocky and she doesn't care if anything's stolen because everything she owns is easily replaced. Thanks for the info… and Clayface? Tell the clown I said hello before you beat his brains out." He smirked, flipping a pair of sunglasses on and hopping back on the motorcycle as Clayface turned back into a little boy.

"Will do." The boy laughed, making the statement seem lighthearted but at the same time menacing.

Chance smirked and sped off for 1003 Mountain Drive as Batman watched from the top of a nearby building.

Bruce wasn't quite sure how to deal with the news he'd just heard. Not only had there been a breakout at Arkham but Clayface and this stranger were targeting a neighbor of his who apparently was a killer and Clayface was once again plotting to kill the Joker. Didn't this town ever sleep?

Ra's Al Ghul, Curiosity, and Zai had all escaped once again and he had a feeling something dangerous had been thrown into the mix this time thanks to this stranger.

Thankfully he knew exactly where he was headed and if he played his cards right he might just be able to catch two killers in one night and find the secret to preventing a possibly cataclysmic chain reaction.


	11. Manipulation

Evil Intent part 11

Chance slipped his Bluetooth on and switched over to Clayface as he sped away.

"The Bat's on my tail. Make your move and I'll meet you in an hour. Lead her to the movie theater across town and DON'T hurt the girl. Just make sure she's out long enough for you to disappear with Chloe. Got it?" Chance said quickly, glancing at the rooftop around the next corner to see Batman.

"Where's the rest of the cash at?" Clayface asked, seemingly a little irritated with being given orders.

"At the theater. I'll give it to you when I get there. Right now I have to deal with the bat so I'd get started if I were you." Chance sighed exasperatedly before hanging up hooking a right away from Wayne Manor.

Batman seemed to be shaken by this a little but followed him all the same and Chance smirked. Everything was falling right into place. Gotham's citizens may not always be the brightest but with the way crime thrived in this city it was easy pickings to find someone who hated the Batman enough to want him dead. Black Mask wasn't an easy man to get in touch with. His father had done business with him once before, the night he'd picked Chloe up from the subway on his way back. And though things weren't exactly "friendly" between them, he was more than willing to make a deal with him to take out a common enemy… especially when Chance had so generously offered to lour the Bat their free of charge.

Chance grinned as he threw his kickstand down and hopped off the bike, pushing the door to a local bar open and heading to the back, poised at the back door, waiting for the bat to follow him in.

Bruce looked down at the bar from across the street.

Something didn't add up. This guy had just found out the location of the person he intended to kill and instead of seizing the chance and going straight there he had decided to stop at a local bar instead? The more he thought about things the more suspicious it seemed. Had he seen him following him? Was he attempting to shake him or possibly determine what had been heard? Or had he sent someone else to do his dirty work for him? This seemed unlikely however. He had seemed adamant about wanting to kill this girl personally. He hadn't wanted Clayface to simply kill her and be done with it. He was either really smart or really stupid. Either way, he was extremely dangerous.

Bruce narrowed his eyes and studied the bar intently before dropping down and around back, discovering that the door was locked however he opted for the front door, not wanting to scare him away immediately by breaking the door down.

The moment he opened the door however he was greeted with a grotesque smile from Black mask and the peal of gunfire. He quickly slammed the door shut and ducked for cover along the side wall before meeting five more gunmen at the end of the alleyway. As soon as the first bullet was fired he grappled out of the alley and onto the nearest roof.

He'd solved the mystery of whether this guy was extremely smart or stupid that was for sure. He knew he was going to be followed so he tipped off Black Mask and staged an ambush to take him out. This guy obviously knew what he was doing. He wasn't like the other egotistical villains in Gotham. He was smart and effective. He didn't care for showmanship or sport as long as his end goals were met and that scared him a little. If this stranger managed to manipulate the other villains in Gotham into doing his dirty work for him he not only had to worry about one villain on the loose but EVERY villain who wished him a gory demise. This wasn't going to be an easy fight and this guy definitely wasn't going to play fair.

He wondered briefly who would be stupid enough to piss this guy off to the point where he'd go through all this trouble just to kill her personally and only one name came to mind: Curiosity.

Well if he couldn't catch the predator he was going to have to protect the prey… the problem was: What do you do when the prey hates your guts and is a predator as well? He sighed and began scanning the city streets leading to 1003 Mountain Drive before he finally spotted Zai and Curiosity dodging into a nearby alleyway to cut across the woods into the backyard of the address. He wondered how he could have been so blind as to not realize his own neighbor was a certified psychopath but let the question drop. He had too many other things to worry about without beating himself up about things he couldn't change. God knows he'd done enough of that for one lifetime but it wouldn't stop him from dwelling on it again later.

"Great…" Curiosity hissed, "Perfect timing." She muttered, pulling Zai into the nearest alleyway and taking off as fast as she could.

"What's wrong?" Zai asked before catching a glimpse of the Dark Knight as he landed on a nearby rooftop, "Oh… never mind, I get your meaning." She said, picking up speed to catch up with Curiosity.

Curiosity turned sharply on her heal as Batman dropped down in front of her and pretended to trip and fall on her back, sliding the gun out of the seat of her pants and into her hand but keeping it out of sight.

Zai rushed to help her up but saw her plan when Batman loomed over her and she tucked the gun under his chin.

"Look, I REALLY hate guns and I'd rather not have to kill you Bruce so please, just leave things alone this time. I can't afford to go back to Arkham right now. I've been stabbed once already tonight, I think that's enough. Not to mention the guy that did it is running loose someplace." She explained, frustrated as she cocked the gun.

"That's what I'm here about. He's making deals with other villains. He nearly had me killed twenty minutes ago when I followed him back to a bar. He had about twenty of Black Mask's men and Black Mask waiting for me and he's struck a deal with Clayface. He knows where you live Haley. I'm taking you back for your own safety." He explained, trying to reason with her, eventually pushing the gun down as she lowered it back to her side.

Her lips straightened into a flat line as she took in this bit of information and she leaned against one of the alley walls.

"I suppose I shouldn't have expected any less. He's always been a planner. Always trying to impress his dad. His dad never gave a damn about anything he did unless it cost him money or got him paid or laid but he's always been two steps ahead, still trying even after his dear daddy's dead. If I go back to Arkham Joker's bound to be awake by now and he'll kill me and if I go home Chance will kill me. So no, I'm not going back to Arkham "for my own safety". I appreciate the heads up about Chance but I don't have any plans on dying tonight so kindly back off and let me handle things." She said stubbornly, turning just far enough so that she could walk in the other direction without having to sacrifice a clear shot at him, "Oh… and call me Haley again and I won't hesitate to shoot you in the ass. Got it?" she added as an afterthought before making her way out of the alley with Zai.

Zai gave Batman a look that was a mixture of gratitude and dislike. She still didn't like him but if he helped them escape Chance she was at least willing to give him a nod of appreciation.

Batman didn't like the way things were going tonight at all. Not only had he failed to capture this "Chance" but he'd also failed to convince his intended victim to come with him and he couldn't argue with her points.

Reluctantly he tried one more solution, the only option he felt could help them and at least stall for time until he was able to capture Chance.

"If you won't go back to Arkham you're coming to my house. I can protect you there and he doesn't know who I am. In the very least it should set him back enough that we could find a way to stop him and at this point, it looks like you best option." He called after them, causing them to stop in their tracks.

"Stay… with you?" Curiosity repeated, dumbfounded at the offer and Bruce nodded in confirmation.

"Yes."


	12. Guilt

Evil Intent part 12

Curiosity blinked, "You confuse the Hell out of me Bruce. I hope you know that. I would think it would be in your best interest to let everyone fight it out and kill each other. Less crime for you to deal with after the blood bath. I'm not complaining by any means but sometimes I question YOUR sanity." She said shaking her head slowly, "I mean, letting us stay at your house is dangerous no matter what way you look at it. If Chance finds us he finds out your secret… well sort of secret, if the police find us you'll be arrested for harboring fugitives, and there's really no reward in it for you except the look on Alfred's face when you tell him we'll be bunking with him." She said frankly.

"I know the risks and I know you're not stupid. We both know what happens if you don't stay with me and I don't want that on my conscience. If I let you or anyone else die, knowing I could have saved them I wouldn't be able to live with myself so no, it's not in my best interest to just sit back and watch the blood bath." He explained solemnly.

Curiosity smirked now. "Pesky things, consciences, aren't they? Never quite leave you alone even if you know what you're doing is the smart decision."

Bruce almost smiled at this comment. "You almost sound like you have one."

"Trust me, I do. And I want nothing more than for her to go away. She's the main reason I'm in this mess." She muttered.

"Why's that?" he asked, a little confused by her phrasing. She almost sounded as if she were talking about a separate person instead of her conscience.

"If I didn't have one Chance would be dead. I knew the risks of not killing him after I killed his dad but I felt guilty about taking everything away from him when I…" she stopped short at this last part and rephrased quickly, "I felt guilty and let him live thinking he wouldn't find me and now look at what's happened."

Zai noticed this pause and smiled slightly as she mentally filled in the blank but said nothing.

"If you had a conscience you wouldn't have killed his father to begin with would you?" Bruce shot back, knowing what it was like to lose a father.

This seemed to sting some and she visibly winced at the pointed words.

"His dad tricked me into killing 8 innocent people and tried to have me killed when I found out about it." She said softly, "I still regret taking Chance's father from him but I don't regret killing him. He stripped me of what little humanity I had left and I'll never forgive him for that. We're not that different Bruce. We both watched our parents die. The difference between you and I is that instead of having a fortune and Alfred to lean on I got sentenced to live in a basement for three years. You got to see what good there was in the world and I got to see how cruel and savage it can be. Can you honestly say that if you'd been in my shoes you would have turned out any different? Ask yourself THAT and see what your conscience has to say." She said evenly before turning to Zai and starting to walk away.

"Come on Zai; let's find someplace else to stay. The last thing I need is a guilt trip from some billionaire playboy playing dress-up." She said evenly.

Bruce hesitated for a long moment before speaking up once more.

"No, I can't. When they released my parents' killer on good behavior I brought a gun to the trial. I wanted nothing more than to kill him. I wanted to make him suffer for what he'd done to them. I wanted justice but someone else got to him first and I came to realize that what I'd wanted wasn't justice, it was revenge and it wouldn't have solved anything. It would have only destroyed everything I had left and both I, and I'm sure my parents, would be ashamed of me if they knew what I'd planned on doing." He explained slowly, "I feel sorry for you because I know just how easy that line is to cross. But just because you've lost something doesn't give you the right to take it from others as well. You could be good if you tried but you choose to kill instead. See what your conscience has to say about that." He finished somberly.

Curiosity looked at Bruce now and stared at him for a long moment before sighing.

"Fine, we'll stay at your place…" She said, looking at Zai for approval, "on two conditions. One: when all of this is over you don't take us back to Arkham and Two: No more heart to heart talks. You're almost worse than Haley and I don't like being badgered about things I already know and would like to forget. Plus you SERIOUSLY need to brush your teeth. Your breath smells like macaroni and EVERYONE at Arkham hates macaroni with a passion."

Bruce blinked and then smiled slightly, extending his hand.

"Deal."

Curiosity smiled and shook his hand before following him back to the mansion with Zai at her side. She almost jumped out of her skin however and swung the pistol around and aimed it at a cat when it suddenly appeared next to her. When she realized her mistake however she laughed and reached down the pet it but it simply hissed at her and ran away before she could touch it.

She frowned now and muttered something along the lines of "Even the animals hate me…" before moving back to walk alongside Bruce.

Bruce pressed a button on his glove and a few seconds later the Batmobile appeared.

Curiosity grinned mischievously now and ran forward before launching herself into the driver's seat and Zai snagged the passenger's seat yelling: "I call shotgun!"

Bruce of course promptly kicked Curiosity out of the driver's seat but allowed Zai to stay put as long as she behaved.

Curiosity pouted a little but managed to find the radio before she got out and cranked the music up as Highway to Hell by AC/DC began to play.


	13. Illusion

Evil Intent part 13

When the Batmobile entered the cave (which seemed to have been fixed since the explosion 8 months ago) Alfred seemed like his usual self and went to greet Bruce with his normal, cheery but professional expression until he saw the two passengers in the car with him.

Curiosity smirked at his startled expression and saluted him in greeting before getting out.

"Something tells me you're not in the mood for guests." She smirked.

Alfred stammered at this and looked to Bruce for answers as he got out.

"They're staying here until things cool down a bit…" he started and Curiosity cut him off.

"Old friend of mine stopped by to say hello… unfortunately his way of saying hello includes blowing my brains out." She explained with a wry smile, "And Joker's next in line waiting for me at Arkham so it looks like we're bunking with you for a while old chap." She winked at him as Zai stepped out of the car to stand next to her.

Alfred looked back at Bruce wearily and Bruce nodded in confirmation.

"He's dangerous Alfred, he's already convincing the other villains to do his work for him. He led me into an ambush of Black Mask's men five minutes after I'd seen him and he bribed Clayface into following her and reporting her address and habits." He said, typing something into his computer that looked like a brief report on Chance.

"His name's Chance Silstrung, son of former leader of the Silstrung family Jerome Silstrung from Caldsville, Illinois. He's been looking for me since his father died four years ago. You could say he's a little bitter." She said, helping Bruce update the profile, "He's working as a cook at Arkham as Chance Form although if you were to trace his computer records I'm sure you wouldn't find anything. He's a perfectionist; he wouldn't be stupid enough to let them get a picture of him on file."

Bruce checked this out and received a picture of a man with similar facial features as Chance but not of Chance himself. Curiosity found herself feeling a little proud of Chance and how much more efficient he was now but then shook her head when she realized that was exactly what she DIDN'T want at the moment considering he was trying to kill her efficiently. This thought made her sick to her stomach as she thought about how everything would end.

"Excuse me, do you have a restroom down here?" she asked, seemingly calm.

Alfred shook his head.

"No, although there is one on the upper level, down the hall and to the right." He said professionally, pressing the button on the elevator to allow her upstairs.

He seemed unsure as to whether or not he should get in the elevator with her however and she gave him a flat look.

"I'm not going to kill you so you can relax." She said evenly, looking at the elevator doors with an almost sad expression.

Alfred seemed to relax visible at this and stepped inside with her and pressed the button for the upper level.

"You mustn't worry. Master Bruce will resolve this problem as quickly as possible. This Chance won't be able to find you." he said reassuringly when he saw the expression on her face.

"With all due respect Alfred, he will. He's smart and he knows me better than anyone else. Even Zai doesn't know everything about me. He's the reason I don't get attached to anyone. Let your guard down for even an instant, let them see the real you, and they'll turn it against you the moment things turn sour. If you think you can trust anyone, even yourself, you're a fool." She said reservedly, "Whether it's tomorrow or ten years from now someone's going to get me. I can't keep it up forever. It just isn't possible. It's time I came to terms with that." She finished solemnly before exiting the elevator and turning down the hall to the right as he'd explained.

Alfred stared at her back as she disappeared and saw for the first time something human about her. Despite all her brash and antagonistic behavior she actually did feel something. She simply fought it, believing it was a weakness to care for others. She did an amazing job at hiding it most of the time but now he could genuinely tell that she was afraid and unsure of what to do next.

Curiosity shut the bathroom door as quickly as possible and leaned against it, sighing tiredly and slowly shifting her eyes to the scars on her abdomen. All but one had been done in anger; the one Zai had given her. The others shown out against her pale skin a pale pink. The fist had been her fault. She'd been careless, desperate in her attempt to escape something that at the time she hadn't deserved. All the others had been given to her with the intention of killing her. She reached up and touched the wound on her shoulder and slipped her shirt off all the way, opening the medicine cabinet to find a small blue box with a needle and threat in it next to a bottle of peroxide.

She gingerly withdrew the needle from the box and looked at it intently, holding it up to the light and wondering why she'd ever been so afraid of the slender object. She supposed it wasn't exactly the needle in its self that she was afraid of but rather the loss of control it represented. Being injected with something that could do anything to you and you would have no control over it, the thought of having something foreign inside of her was sickening, and the last but probably most terrifying part: the knowing that once something so small pricked your skin it could be over. Everything she'd ever cared about, accomplished, and dreamed about could be wiped out within a moment by something as tiny and insignificant as a needle.

She sighed and after a long moment began to stitch her wound. So what? She'd given all that up already hadn't she? Really the only two things she had left were Zai and sensation. What could Chance or anyone for that matter really take from her that she hadn't already given up? It'd be painful, she was sure of that, but it wouldn't last long.

When she was finished with her shoulder she stood up and looked out the window at the dim city landscape beyond and then at the window itself. The window had been replaced in the last 8 months but she remembered looking up at that same skyline after crashing through it after she'd been gassed. She'd been sure it was going to kill her, it was incredibly painful and it felt as if her lungs where going to burst. She'd been grateful after passing out. Maybe that's just what it would be like, passing out… except she wouldn't wake up tied to a chair or in a hospital bed. She just wouldn't wake up.

Her breathing quickened at this thought and she forced herself to control it as hot tears slid down her cheeks and she rushed to wipe them away as quickly as possible.

"Pathetic…" she hissed at herself, straightening up and forcing herself to regain her composure before opening the door to see Zai with her hand poised to knock on the door.

Zai stood still and looked at her for a moment.

"What's wrong?" she asked and Curiosity quickly averted her eyes and turned to walk down the hall, though she had no idea where she was going.

"Nothing." She answered simply, "Nothing."


	14. Loved You

Evil Intent part 14

Zai followed Curiosity down the hall worriedly and Curiosity got the distinction that she was just getting more and more lost the farther down she went and so stopped tiredly but didn't turn around.

"What do you want?" she sighed.

Zai paused for a minute but spoke up.

"You like him don't you?" she asked softly.

"Who?" Curiosity asked, feigning ignorance.

"Chance. You paused when you were talking about him in the alley and you've been acting weird ever since he came here." She made out.

"Maybe it's because he's tried to kill me how many times in the span of a few days?" she spat but still refused to turn around and face her, "I'd have to be suicidal to like him or in the very least a masochist." She said quietly.

"Then why are you crying?" she asked slowly.

"Wouldn't you?" she asked instinctively before sighing, "Never mind. You wouldn't. I don't know what I was thinking…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Zai shot back a bit more confused than Curiosity would have expected and Curiosity spun around to face her.

"I've seen the scars Zai. You're not afraid to die. I get it. You have no reason to be afraid of it, you're a good person. You've never killed anyone, you're not bitter or cruel, and the world's treated you like shit but you're still one of the nicest people I know. I think killing yourself is extremely stupid, giving up everything for something so uncertain but you're not afraid of it and I envy that. Give me an hour or so and I'll be fine. I'm just a little upset that someone I used to think I loved wants me dead." She breathed, sliding down against the wall to sit down, glancing up to see something shimmer on Zai's wrists as if the scars were forming before her eyes, when she wiped her eyes however and looked back at them nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary and she figured she was just imagining things.

"Loved?" She asked and Curiosity froze her cheeks hot now.

"Used to think I loved." She corrected quietly, getting to her feet and deciding to continue her search for a bedroom.

Zai smiled slightly now and followed Curiosity down the hall until she found a bedroom with a large window on the east wall.

"I think I have something that'll cheer you up." Zai said with a slightly mischievous smile.

Curiosity thought the mischievous smile was a bit odd for Zai but didn't say anything.

"What? Are we going to take the Batmobile for a joyride or something?" she scoffed but smiled in spite of herself.

Zai laughed but shook her head.

"I don't think we'd get very far before Bruce caught up with us." She smirked, "That would be fun though. No, I was thinking something along the lines of sneaking out to go see a horror movie at the drive in. I think the new Nightmare on Elm Street remake is playing." She tempted.

Curiosity smiled slightly at the offer and cast a glance down the hall to see if anyone was listening before sneaking off toward the kitchen.

"Just let me pack a couple knives." She said with a mischievous grin.

Zai smiled at this and followed her down to the kitchen and helped her sneak out the back door.

After Curiosity slid out the door however Zai turned around and smiled evilly at Zai as the elevator opened to reveal her.

Zai stood in shock as she looked at another version of herself standing across the room from her and in an instant the figure disappeared into the night.

Curiosity laughed and took off at top speed for the theater but Zai at her heels.

"Race you!" she challenged with a grin and Curiosity picked up speed at the challenge.

"It's on." She laughed, as she raced neck and neck with Zai for the theater.

Alarms sounded all throughout the batcave announcing an intruder.

"What's going on?" Zai asked nervously.

"There's an intruder somewhere in the house but I can't pinpoint a location just yet." Bruce declared, typing several codes in before a screen came up showing that the back door had been opened.

Zai raced over to the elevator now before Bruce could say anything more. Curiosity was upstairs. If Chance had somehow made it inside she didn't know what she would do but she had to try and help.

The moment the elevator opened however she saw another version of herself standing across the room from her, leering at her, and in an instant the figure disappeared into the night.

When Curiosity reached the pavement of the drive-in she breathed heavily and smirked in triumph.

"I w…won." She declared breathlessly.

"No, no you didn't." a voice said from behind her and she reeled around to see Chance grinning broadly at her.

She immediately grabbed Zai's arm and made to run in the opposite direction but to her surprise Zai's flesh took on a clay-like consistency and her arms were instead quickly restrained behind her back. She attempted to reach her knives in her back pocket but found that she couldn't move her arms far enough through the thick consistency around them.

She looked on in horror when she saw that Zai had morphed into Clayface and she swallowed dryly as her eyes fell once more on Chance, her eyes growing cold now.

"So this is it huh? You're going to kill me?" she asked, her voice wavering slightly as she said it, her throat suddenly going dry.

Chance nodded and advanced on her slightly.

"And what better way is there than to have someone you trust lead you to your death?" He smirked.

Curiosity hung her head now and her hair hung low over her eyes.

"I knew this was coming. I just didn't expect it so soon." She said in a tone barely above a whisper.

"You see? That's you problem Chloe. You don't expect ANYTHING to happen! You do whatever you please when you please and don't give a second thought to the consequences and now that something's actually caught up with you you can't believe it." He said, holding a knife under her chin, "I just have one question. After you saw me that night why didn't you kill me? You had to have known I'd come after you so why didn't you?" he asked.

She looked up at him now with fresh tears in her eyes.

"Because I loved you." she made out in a tone barely audible even to him when he was inches from her face.

This seemed to take him for surprise but then his expression morphed back into one of hatred.

"Love you to." He growled, driving the blade into her chest and then ripping it out a moment later, kissing her as he ripped it out before letting her drop to the pavement.

She gasped in pain and looked dizzily up at the night's sky, tasting blood as it welled at the back of her throat.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Chance said in an almost saddened tone of voice, "Your money is in the trunk of the green Chevy by the screen." He said, unwilling to look at her as he turned to walk away.

Curiosity limply grasped at the cuff of his jeans and held on as tightly as she could and he looked down at her with what looked like tears in his eyes before averting his gaze and pulling his foot away and leaving her.

Curiosity closed her eyes and felt warm tears trickle down the side of her face before everything went black and her head fell to the side.


	15. Evidence

Evil Intent part 15

Ra's Al Ghul looked up at the screen, bored. Modern day horror movies didn't hold a candle to the real thing and although the concept of lucid dreaming and mind over matter made the movie at the very least bearable he found himself bored even at the most climactic of parts. Senseless violence: that's what everyone here had come for. The other movie goers were frantically shoving handfuls of popcorn and an assortment of candy into their mouths as they watched, their eyes glued to the screen. There only seemed to be roughly six cars here however considering drive-ins were less popular than theaters nowadays and the movie had been out for a few weeks.

About halfway through the movie he decided he didn't care to watch anymore and flipped the radio off only to hear a conversation going on a few yards behind his car.

"And what better way is there than to have someone you trust lead you to your death?" a male voice asked.

At first he'd thought it was one of the other movie goers making some point about the movie but when the conversation continued he began to think otherwise.

"I knew this was coming. I just didn't expect it so soon." A familiar voice said almost so quietly he couldn't hear her.

"You see? That's you problem Chloe. You don't expect ANYTHING to happen! You do whatever you please when you please and don't give a second thought to the consequences and now that something's actually caught up with you you can't believe it. I just have one question. After you saw me that night why didn't you kill me? You had to have known I'd come after you so why didn't you?" the male voice asked angrily, causing him to turn to look behind him toward the scene.

The girl's lips moved but he couldn't hear what she said it was so quiet.

"Love you to." The man growled and stabbed her in the chest, causing both his and the girl's eyes to go wide in shock.

After saying something to his partner the man moved to take off and the girl grasped the cuff of his jeans, holding on tightly until he pulled away from her and took off as the girl's head fell to the side lifelessly.

He quickly rushed to her side now and saw that it was in fact the girl he'd met at the asylum, Curiosity as he recalled.

He felt for a pulse but found none. He had expected as much. It looked as though her killer had torn her aorta, killing her almost instantly.

Pity, she'd been interesting to talk to. He wondered briefly why she'd been killed but given what she'd told him of herself he had a pretty good guess as to why.

After a moment he glanced over his shoulder to see two men talking and occasionally glancing his way with frightened expressions and he realized what it must have looked like: he, stooped over the girl, with a pool of blood surrounding her. He grimaced at the presumption of this and gingerly lifted her into his arms and carried her over to his car as the men began, no doubt, calling 911 to report the murder with him as the suspect.

One of the braver men started for his car to stop him from leaving but he started it and took off before the man could get within ten feet of the car. After driving about ten miles out he parked the car and looked back at her once more, determining whether he should consider doing what he was thinking or not. The pits always had side-effects but if he acted quickly the effects would most likely be temporary and he would no doubt earn her trust, perhaps allowing him a means of direction in regards to Gotham's weak points and help him navigate the network of Gotham's underbelly. Not to mention the fact that it would be pleasant to be able to have a conversation with someone in this city that wasn't about things like Justin Biebar or the Twilight franchise.

He took one more look at her before deciding to go through with it. If things turned from his favor he could only learn from his mistakes and move on.

Zai frantically pointed out the direction her other self had taken and began running in that direction before Bruce caught up to her and matched her stride.

"Do you know where they were headed?" Bruce asked but she shook her head, "No, although the only thing near where they were headed that Curiosity would sneak out of the house with me to go to would probably be the movie theater. She loves horror movies." She explained in a nervous rush.

"Then we'll start there." Bruce said, picking up speed as they neared the parking lot but holding her off when they saw the crowd of police arriving and the amount of blood spilled on the asphalt, stay here he instructed and Zai reluctantly did as she was told as Bruce made his way up to someone she vaguely recognized as Commissioner Gordon.

"Any leads?" he asked briefly, examining the amount of blood on the pavement.

"We have three witnesses that say they saw a man of Arabic decent standing over a green haired girl dressed in an Arkham inmate uniform but none of the three actually witnessed the event. They say the man picked her up and stowed her in the back of his car before they could go to stop him or get a better description of him." He reported with a sigh, "With the amount of blood she lost however I find it highly unlikely that she survived whoever she is."

Batman nodded solemnly. "The girl's name is Haley Riler. She was a patient at Arkham Asylum until her recent escape. It seems there's a new villain in town by the name of Chance Silstrung. He seems to manipulate other villains into doing his dirty work for him but as I understand it this was a personal matter for him. She killed his father 4 years ago and recently he managed to track her down. He was working with Ethan Benett earlier this evening and I have reason to believe he was still with him when she disappeared. This Arabic man may be involved but I doubt he was the actual killer in this case." He relayed and Gordon took this in, "You know how to reach me if you find anything." He finished, taking off and circling around back to Zai.

"What happened? Is she ok?" Zai asked hurriedly and Batman took on a genuinely sad expression before shaking his head, "They haven't found her yet but there's too much blood for her to have survived." He said sadly.

Zai's eyes widened in shock and tears bit at her their corners.

"But they haven't found her yet. She could be somewhere else. This could be SOMEONE else… right?" she asked hopefully but Bruce shook his head.

"The witnesses identified the victim as a green haired girl dressed in an Arkham uniform." He said solemnly and Zai began to cry.

"No, no, no… I should have come up earlier. I knew she was taking a long time but I figured she wanted some space considering the kind of day she'd had." She sobbed and Batman put a consoling hand on her shoulder only to have it jerked away quickly as she got to her feet and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"If they saw her then why can't they find her?" she asked blatantly.

"They said an Arabic man put her in his car and drove away. I'm going to check the surveillance tapes of all the surrounding stores to see if I can get a picture of what happened and find out where she is now." He said consolingly, walking with her back to the secret entrance to the batcave.

Zai nodded half-heartedly and followed him, sitting down in a corner of the cave and looking to be nearly catatonic after the first few minutes.

"Any news sir?" Alfred asked, feeling he already knew the answer.

"She's dead Alfred." He said solemnly in a tone low enough so as to not upset Zai any further, "Someone took her body from the drive-in after the show though and I have an idea of who it might have been." He said, moving to the computer to enhance a video shot of the man as he carried Curiosity to his car, "Ra's Al Ghul…" he confirmed after a long moment.


	16. Hope

Evil Intent part 16

Curiosity's eyes snapped open and something like white hot electricity surged through her. It was as if every sensation she would have felt if she hadn't died was suddenly rushing to catch up with her in an instant and it boiled up into her lungs and came out as an agonized scream. Everything was on fire with sensation and she immediately felt as if she had to move, free herself of this molten liquid at any cost. She stumbled a bit and looked around wildly for some sort of ledge or platform to hoist herself up on and finally decided to scale the wall of earth on her right, digging her nails into it and hoisting herself up with much less effort than she'd anticipated.

She muttered several incoherent things and hugged her knees to her chest now, rocking back and forth slightly before seeing the gash in the fabric over her heart but no gaping wound beneath. Her ramblings seemed to take on a desperate tone and their speed increased slightly, shaking as she did. Eventually she pushed her head into her lap and raked her fingers through her hair shakily as if frightened and unsure of its very existence.

When she'd confirmed it was really there she hugged her chest and breathed deeply, trying to calm herself down but still shaking visibly.

"How…?" she finally asked aloud, "H…how?"

After reexamining her hair once more she stared at the pit below her with abject terror and Ra's Al Ghul moved in close to her. She retreated slightly into the corner she was in and watched him with wide fearful eyes.

"How…?" she finally managed to repeat shaking, looking him in the eyes intently.

"It's quite a shock, I know. It's not easy coming back to the land of the living. It's a whole other sensation apart from pain, pleasure, anything you could ever experience…" he started and she cut him off.

"Why?" she asked croakily, staring at the pit, "Why am I here?" she asked, shakily patting her clothes down to make sure they were real as well.

"The Lazarus pits have the power to heal the dying and raise the dead." He explained and she shook her head.

"Why am iI/i here? Why pull me out of Hell and put me back here just to do it all over again?" she cried before spotting what looked like a knife hilt on his back, possibly to a katana.

She quickly leapt up to grab it with a feverish laugh but was quickly knocked down and she winced at the pain before looking up at him once more.

"Why can't I have it? Why am I here?" she asked a bit more solemnly this time but in a manner comparative to a child being punished.

"Because you'll kill someone with it and you're here because I thought you would appreciate what I have given you: a second chance." He stated a little testily but at the same time understanding her disposition.

"Only one person…" she said innocently, crossing her arms behind her back.

"And who would that be?" he asked a little irritated.

"Me." She answered simply, "They can't kill me if I beat them to it." She said casually.

"That would defeat the whole purpose of bringing you back. They think you're dead, they aren't going to kill you." he sighed.

"That's what Zai said before Joker tried. Nearly strangled me to death in Bruce's kitchen…" She said in a light far away voice that sounded like she was complaining about Joker stealing her Barbies instead of trying to kill her.

"Poor Bruce, Clayface knows his secret now, Joker knows his secret, almost everyone I know does. He's not very good at keeping secrets anyway. I don't know why he tries. There's too much for him. He thinks he can lock everyone up and they'll somehow magically get better and not escape and hate him forever but they do. They do and he won't kill them to stop them from hurting anyone else. He's afraid to. He thinks he'll end up like me if he does." She said distractedly before something crossed her mind and she changed the subject quickly, "Poor Zai! I left her there! I…I have to get back." She said, standing up.

"How long have I been dead?" she asked worriedly.

"Approximately 18 1/2 hours." He answered after a moment, "I will take you back to see your friend but I'm afraid we're not in Gotham at the moment so it will take some time."

"Where are we?" she asked sadly.

"Bosnia." He answered and she frowned but followed him up to the surface where what looked like a private plane was waiting.

"I've never been on a plane before… I don't think I've ever even been this close to one before." she said in wonder, studying everything about it in one long sweep with her eyes.

"Technically you have." He pointed out but smiled slightly.

"Doesn't count if you're dead." She pointed out, a little angry at his spoiling the excitement of her first plane ride.

Once they were on the plane she noticed a mini-bar at the back and immediately when back and fixed a Chai Toddy for each of them, grinning from ear to ear at the taste. Then she took on a confused look and stared at the glass in her hand.

"Wait… I don't drink." She said, putting it aside but then glancing back at it again and drinking it anyway, "Haven't had one of these in four years." She noted casually, "Chance convinced me to try it… It's still disgusting." She said sadly, swishing around the remaining contents and setting it down.

"Then why drink it?" he asked, slightly confused.

"It's still the same. It didn't change." She said a bit sadly to which he thought she might just be regaining a little bit of lucidity.


	17. Fury

Evil Intent part 17

Chance took a long swallow of rum, not even bothering to pick up his shot glass that sat next to him but rather just downing long harsh swallows from the bottle. He'd finally done it, he'd finally killed her. He'd finally killed the girl he'd been trying to track down for four years. He should be celebrating. He'd avenged his father's death, taken care of things so efficiently that he'd have been proud of him, and now he found himself thinking he'd give anything to take it back.

He took a long swallow of rum now that emptied the bottle and he tossed it down beside him carelessly before pulling a thin glossy strip of paper out of his pocket that looked to have been folded and torn at the edges but still intact. It was a picture of him and Chloe at the mall together the first year after he'd met her.

They'd made the goofiest faces possible in the first picture. Her eyes were crossed and her tongue was dangerously close to picking her nose. She'd given him a pair of bunny ears and he'd given her devil horns and dropped his lower lip so that it hung so low it was close to the base of his chin, his head tilted to the side slightly toward her as if he were going to give her a death hug at any second.

He laughed a little at this and looked down at the second picture in which they'd acted like secret agents and he'd given her his sunglasses which were way too big for her, making her look something like Lady Gaga without the funny hats and meat. He'd struck a James Bond pose and put his arms around her like she was a bond girl and kissed her.

In the last picture she'd taken the glasses off and smirked at him, wrapping her scarf around his neck and pulling him into another kiss for which he partially blocked the camera with his hand for.

Why had she done it? Why couldn't she have stayed with him, let him work things out with his father instead? Why did she have to rob him of everything he had and then just leave without saying a word? She'd lied to him, manipulated him, and taken everything from him and now, despite everything he found himself missing her, missing her playful kisses, her teasing nature, her smart ass comments and come backs, and her willingness to try anything, even if it seemed dangerous, at least once.

He flipped on the TV to distract him from his thoughts and flipped through the channels, speeding quickly past a romantic drama on lifetime and finally settling on the news. The reporter seemed to be in a sort of rush as he went over the details of the latest news report. The Joker had escaped… big surprise. He wasn't sure how anyone thought the deranged clown could be kept in Gotham's most "prestigious" asylum that couldn't even keep its cameras working most of the time. If he didn't know better he'd think the staff purposely set the prisoners free just to get them out of their hair for a little while. He certainly wouldn't put it past Strange. The pompous bastard hadn't even called the cops on him after he'd emptied his gun into Chloe's cell. For all he knew it was simply to save his precious reputation as head of the asylum… idiot.

Who really cared if he was head of the damn asylum or not if he couldn't keep a patient within the asylum, let alone treat one? Idiots…

He was about to go search the fridge for more rum when another report aired. It was a video from a security camera from across the street from the drive-in. The reporter warned the audience that the images shown were disturbing and to remove their children from the room before rolling the clip. The footage showed him stabbing Chloe, dropping her to the ground, and pulling away from her grasp as she pulled at his pant leg.

The reporter announced that the victim was none other than Haley Riler, otherwise known as Curiosity.

At the mention of this last part Chance found himself remembering something she'd told him the night they'd met after he'd confronted her about her past. She'd warned him that Curiosity killed the cat and that if he didn't leave it was going to kill him instead. He wondered if that was just a coincidence or not.

He'd thought the clip would end then but to his surprise the clip continued to show a man of Arabic decent getting out of his car and lifting her into his arms and into the backseat. She was dead, he was sure. The amount of blood that she'd lost combined with the damage done to her aorta hadn't left her a shot to even make it to the hospital in an ambulance, let alone in the back of some black Chevy.

The man hadn't even bothered to call 911 either which seemed strange for a civilian and the way he'd headed out of the parking lot was in the opposite direction of the hospital. Then the reporter announced that this man was no ordinary citizen but rather another escaped patient from the asylum a: Terry Gene Kase convicted mass murderer sentenced to 8 consecutive life sentences at Arkham Asylum.

This fact made every cell in his body seem to vibrate with blind fury and he picked up the empty bottle next to him and hurled it with such force at the TV that glass from both the bottle and screen littered the floor around him. He seethed now and found himself imagining doing the most horrible things possible to the man.

He smiled now, his face contorting into a sadistic grin that threatened to split his face in half. He no longer had anything to lose… He'd lost EVERYTHING and now… now he could do ANYTHING he wanted… starting with killing Terry Gene Kase.


	18. I Guess Fate Intervened

Evil Intent part 18

Zai took off for Wayne manor at an alarming speed despite her fatigue and nearly broke the door down with the amount of force she put into it when opening it. Alfred stood at the front door in front of her with his hand poised as if he'd been holding onto the doorknob a moment ago but had it ripped from his hand.

"Where's Bruce?" she demanded breathlessly and Alfred ran back to the elevator only to find that Bruce was already coming up from the Batcave.

"Tell me what you know about Ra's Al Ghul." Zai demanded when she saw him, "I need to know where I can find him and don't try to tell me you don't know who I'm talking about because I heard you talking earlier." She said hotly.

Bruce didn't seem to be intimidated however and simply gave her an even look that was both one of sympathy and dissatisfaction.

"If I knew I wouldn't be here and he wouldn't be out there. He's an extremely dangerous eco-terrorist bent on destroying the world's economy and plunging all of humanity back into the dark ages in an effort to "cleanse" the world and start over again." He finally answered but Zai could tell it from his eyes that there was more to the story than just what he was willing to tell her.

"And why did he take Curiosity if he's obsessed with "cleansing" the world?" she asked skeptically.

"I don't know. I'll be sure to ask him when I see him." He shot back but then seemed to realize he was being too harsh on her, "Look, we've all been through a lot today, no one's slept, I'm not sure if I COULD sleep and the last thing I need is to worry about you going out to find someone who could kill you. I've got enough on my conscience without that to." He said, moving to place a hand on her shoulder but then stopping upon remembering her chiraptophobia stopped and let his arm fall back to his side awkwardly.

Zai simply glared at him and turned away from him to walk out the door.

"Fine, if you aren't going to tell me I'll ask him myself. Don't lose any sleep over me. Either way I'm not coming back without her." She said adamantly before slamming the door behind her and taking off again, this time for the narrows.

She wasn't sure exactly where to go but she knew who she was looking for… the man who could be anyone and anything at any time and there was only one sure fire way to find him.

When she looked up at the apartment complex on her right she surmised that it was either this apartment building or the one a block over that housed Detective Yin. Since this building had a squad car parked around back she had a pretty good feeling it was this one and stepped into the lobby.

The room seemed rather cramped and reeked of cigarette smoke and something else that she thought might have been marijuana smoke and, judging from the guy at the front desk, probably was. His eyes were bloodshot and he was laughing at something on TV which when she looked was a news report.

"That Batman is so… stupid. He locks all them crazies up in that there asylum and they just… they just get right back out! So stupid… and the cops don't do nothing about it neither! They just stand around and look all pretty like that one upstairs whose probably doing her hair up right now when the Joker just escaped and… and a bunch of those other ones is on the loose! They should just get out there and shoot 'em." He laughed, making a gun shape with his hands and making noises as if it were firing, "Or just let 'em kills each other! I seen on the news this morning that that one girl… what's 'er name… Curiosity or whatever done bled out at some drive-in. That police man… Bennett or Burnet or whatever, Clayface and some other guy got together and took her down!" he laughed, resuming his gun noises again and heading back into the small room to pop open a beer that probably wasn't his first and down it.

Zai was on the verge of shoving the beer can down his throat now but decided it was in her best interest to find out where Yin was first so she played along.

"And… just where is the pretty police lady?" she asked and he shrugged, taking another gulp of beer.

"Somewhere on the fourth floor… 411 or something maybe? Hey… hey if you go up and sees her fixin' that pretty hair of hers tell her… tell her get up off her lazy ass and gets to shootin' those crazies for me. I need to go take a nap…" he yawned, heading back into the room and chucking a key at her.

She caught it and gave him a disgusted look as he passed out on the bed and began to snore loudly. And just when she thought no one could out-snore Penguin… If Curiosity was alive she wouldn't shed a tear if she somehow found out about their little conversation and came back to give him a little "talk".

Zai climbed the stairs and by the time she reached the fourth floor the man's snoring finally disappeared and she reached room 411.

When she opened the door however the woman in the room definitely wasn't Detective Yin.

A tan woman with high cheek bones and long brown hair done up into a high ponytail sat up as she opened the door and starred at her for a moment before speaking.

"You're Zai correct?" the woman asked in a calm, perceptive voice.

Zai nodded warily and thought about closing the door but the woman beckoned her to come in. She seemed oddly familiar, as if she'd seen the same facial structures somewhere but not with the woman herself. The high cheek bones seemed to be screaming some indiscernible fact at her but she couldn't figure it out. The one thing she knew was that she shouldn't trust the woman under any circumstances. She seemed to radiate an almost poisonous air and gave the impression of a coiled snake.

"My name is Talia, Talia Al Ghul. My father sent me here to tell you you'll be seeing your friend again soon. I wasn't expecting to meet you under these exact circumstances but I suppose fate intervened." She said in a slow even voice that was meant to be comforting but instead furthered Zai's initial impression of her: a snake.


	19. Resurrection

Evil Intent part 19

Curiosity felt as if her flesh were peeling from the bones beneath, heat rising through her muscles and radiating outward in agonizing ways and she found herself remembering only one thing throughout it.

"If the world is sadistic and cruel and you can't change it, change yourself and become a masochist. Being completely sane is torture so why not live it up and enjoy the only sane way you can by driving yourself INSANE."

The words reverberated through her mind, sickeningly comforting despite the knowledge of whose lips they'd emanated from.

At this thought however Chance seemed to appear in front of her once more and grinned sadistically at her, advancing on her as she sank into the ground that she now realized was made of clay.

She braced herself for the torture she knew was coming and slammed her eyes shut only to find that nothing was happening and opened her eyes a crack to see if it had somehow miraculously ended. She wasn't so lucky however; Chance was still there, grinning madly at her and flashing a knife down into her chest once more. It didn't kill her however and she found him simply trying harder and harder, dredging the blade deeper each time until he finally gave up and began working at carving her face just as she'd done to so many of her own victims who were now watching as the events played out.

Lilly's blackened and burned face smirked at her misfortune and all the others began to laugh, even her parents. When it seemed the pain couldn't get any worse Chance abruptly got up and left with the others, climbing the stairs and locking her in her foster parent's basement once more. The smell of her blood intermingling with the other more unpleasant odors that still managed to drive bile to the back of her throat even after enduring the same scene thousands of times, mirrors lining all of the walls around her as the others laughed upstairs.

She slammed her eyes shut once more and hot tears raced down her cheeks before the blinding pain of heat rising in her muscles and radiating out through her bones wormed it's way in again and then suddenly dulled for some reason.

She breathed in a choked sob before quickly coughing as she realized she was underwater or rather drowning in some sort of chemicals. She quickly attempted to swim to the surface and breathed in a choking breath, green chemicals dripping from her hair and shoulders as she broke the surface.

At first she thought she'd been submerged in the Joker's chemicals once again and was being forced to endure the effects of the gruesome smilex but to her surprise there was no triumphant laughter reverberating in her ears and the pain eventually faded until it was almost as if she were simply wading in a warm green pool.

She slowly stood, her legs shaking a bit as she took her first step forward out of the pool and onto the brown earth beside it. When she finally made her way out of it she collapsed in a heap on the ground and began running her finger through it as if it in itself were a miracle to behold.

When she finally gained the strength to stand a steady fury like nothing she'd ever felt before raged behind her eyes and it seemed as if nothing else in the universe mattered other than her indisputably perfect revenge. She closed her eyes at this thought and breathed in the scents around her before letting it out in a long rush, her hair falling over her eyes before they snapped open with such suddenness it surprised Ra's as he approached her, her head whipping around to face him with a mad curious grin on her face.

"They get you to Ra's or are you here to mock me as well?" she asked in an icy tone.

Ra's stared at her for a moment before smiling. She was confused but she seemed fairly rational at least.

"No, I'm not here to mock or torment you in any way and as it appears neither one of us are dead." He explained calmly.

Curiosity stared at him coldly now as if he were the confused one and she had no desire to explain such grim circumstances to him.

"Things are almost never what they appear to be." She said evenly, turning her gaze away from him in an almost bored manner and looking around, "I don't recognize this place. What circle is this?" she asked without turning back in his direction before realizing something and walking away from him.

"Never mind, I forgot you think we're still alive." She said pitilessly, "I'd check again if I were you. When you start through your circles false hope isn't going to do you any good. It only hurts more when you realize no one's coming to save you."

"Fair advice, however neither of us are dead because I brought you back from the dead." He said, causing her to stop in her tracks and turn curiously in his direction.

"I'm listening…" she said plainly.

"You see I was at the drive-in the night you were killed. I thought it such a waste to leave you there when I could bring you here. Behold the Lazarus Pits! We spoke once of my organization that Batman seeks to keep me from. You see just as you I have been spared by the pits. I discovered them some 700 years ago just outside my village in the Middle East. The pits have the capability to heal the dying and in some cases, such as your own, raise the dead." He explained, deciding not to mention the temporary side-effects of such a feat to her.

Curiosity gave him a long empty look before reaching down to the whole in the fabric of her shirt just above her heart, pulling it to the side slightly to see only a faint pink line where the knife had penetrated.

"I see…" she said, her curiosity piqued now, "And just what is this "organization" of yours?" she asked, closing her eyes as she pushed the fabric back together and turned to look at him once more.

"In English: The Demon." He stated and she nodded.

"A little unoriginal but understandable I suppose." She said after a moment.

"Unoriginal?" Ra's asked, a little irritated with the amount of callous she put forward at tearing down his organization when she knew nothing about it and it had saved her.

Curiosity quirked an eyebrow now as if it the statement were so obvious she couldn't believe he was questioning it.

"An organization of demons called The Demon isn't unoriginal in your opinion?" she asked with mild incredulity.

This seemed to take him back for a moment and she shrugged.

"Unless you yourself are not a demon but your organization's methods of "cleansing" cities involve enlisting the help of demons through the pits as you've suggested. In any case the name is still a bit unoriginal. Nevertheless I am still grateful for the release. Though I'm curious as to what your intentions for me are being we had only met for a few minutes before my demise." She explained in the same callous tone, not even flinching as he'd expected her to at the mention of her fate.

He wondered about her mental state but decided that although her version of her resurrection was crudely distorted it still brought them upon the same level of understanding and that was more than he'd hoped for considering the effects of the pits.

"The latter is more accurate than the former I suppose although I disagree with your reasoning I suppose you are in the vaguest sense correct in your assumptions. You are familiar with Gotham's infrastructure am I correct? And quite intimate with the secrets of its underbelly?" he asked and she nodded, an odd smirk tracing her lips at the mention of intimacy.

"You are correct." She acknowledged with a sadistic grin that reminded him all too well of a certain prince he'd once resurrected.

He frowned at this unpleasant image for a moment before she suddenly laughed and smiled broadly, revealing all of her teeth in a feral grin.

"Alright I'll do it." She said with an evil grin.

"Do what?" he asked, a bit taken aback at the sudden declaration when he hadn't even told her of her mission.

She rolled her eyes at this question and answered plainly but with the same sadistic smile on her lips.

"Destroy Gotham. Believe it or not I have just the plan to do it to if you have the right toys to accomplish the task." She laughed.


	20. In Stitches

Evil Intent part 20

Jonathan sat in the rec room with an odd satisfied smirk on his lips that caught the Joker's interest. The burns on his face forced him to smile grimly unless he purposely concentrated on frowning… which he normally went out of his way to do just to spite him.

Today however his smile was a genuine one and somehow Joker sensed it was something a little more than his being happy to see him… or the happy Jonathan normally got when he imagined all the inhumane experiments he intended to conduct on him. What a joke. The chemicals wouldn't do anything and he'd just wind up torturing the Scarecrow instead. He mused at how funny that would be for a moment before noticing the purple hand prints around the Scarecrow's neck.

"What's the matter Jonny? Lose a fight your grandma?" he howled and Jonathan scowled at him in a much darker way than he would have thought the joke would have produced, "Judging by that look I'd say that's a pretty fair guess." He howled, mocking him in a nasally stereotypical scientist voice.

"Don't be ridiculous. I killed my grandmother when I was still in high school." He muttered.

Joker smirked at this confession. "Then how'd you get the marks? You and your pet doctor get into a little fight? Wait, don't tell me, you fell and hit a door knob several times! Now that would explain the face. Now what happened to your neck?" he howled again and the orderlies reprimanded him this time around to which he gave them an evil smile that scared several of them into submission.

Jonathan remained unimpressed however. Stupid "Master of Fear" couldn't take a joke and wouldn't even cower under his gaze. What was the world coming to?

"Sit down and watch the news and maybe I'll tell you." he said, turning up the volume so that everyone in the rec room could hear it, earning him a nasty look from the orderlies but between his and Joker's glare the orderlies had now retreated to the back of the room, "The matter it seems has already been dealt with so don't get used to the rings."

"Warning: The images shown here are disturbing and therefore not suitable for children. Please escort your children from the room at this time." The reporter warned.

"Hey Pengi! The reporter says no children in the room. Get out." He laughed and the Penguin muttered under his breath, standing still and watching the screen with the others as they huddled around the television set.

The Joker's laughter died in his throat at the scene however and was replaced by a blind fury that left the other patients slightly confused and a bit frightened as he chucked the remote through the T.V.

"She was MINE…" he growled at the shattered television before turning to the Scarecrow and gripping him by the throat, "Who is he? He's dead!" he practically snarled, scaring even the so called "Master of Fear".

After a moment Jonathan recovered however and his face deadpanned into a flat line.

"The report said his name's Chance Silstrung but his name at Arkham was Chance Form. That's all I know about him other than he's wanted her dead for quite a while." He said, gesturing with his eyes for the Joker to put him down.

Joker simply dropped him as if he were a doll he no longer had any interest in playing with and stormed across the room as Adrian went to help Jonathan up.

"What was that about?" Adrian asked, more in awe at the clown's sudden change in demeanor than truly curious but Jonathan answered nonetheless.

"Curiosity's dead and he's pissed because he wanted to kill her. In case you haven't already noticed he's a little screw loose." He said, brushing himself off as if the clown's touch had somehow made him filthy, "Although… I can't say I wouldn't have liked the opportunity for myself either." He added after a moment, meeting Adrian's gaze with a steady but eerie look that betrayed his true madness.

In an instant however the look was gone and his usual scientific demeanor returned, leaving him looking as if he were more annoyed with the situation at hand than anything else.

Adrian turned to see why and in an instant Joker flipped over backward and snapped the neck of the orderly nearest to him between his legs, sounding a sickening crunch and a thud before the orderly even had time to scream. The orderly opposite him fought the urge to stare at his dead companion in shock as he quickly prepared a sedative, for the harlequin, which was immediately shoved down his throat.

"Have a little taste of your own medicine AND a little broken glass and needle for fiber." He laughed as Gabe rushed at him with another sedative in hand.

Joker unfortunately caught his wrist and twisted it back painfully, forcing Gabe back against the wall where he ducked and narrowly missed having his skull caved in or in the very least loosing every tooth in his mouth.

When this failed Joker went on to bashing Gabe in the ribs with his knee and began working on punching him in the kidneys.

"You know, I have a joke for you. A man goes downtown to the police station and begins to watch a lineup. There's a burglar, a serial killer, and a clown in the lineup and the officer asks: "So which one is it?"." The man replies…" he said, pausing to send another crippling punch to Gabe's stomach, "The clown! He put me in stitches!" he roared with laughter as he ripped the straightjacket from his head and pulled out a knife.

Gabe's eyes widened in fear but to his surprise Joker stopped and seemed to fidget for a long moment before reaching behind him and ripping at three wires in his back, glaring at Adrian as he swung her taser from the wires and whipped it back at her angrily before advancing on her.

Adrian's eyes widened now and she attempted to get as far away from him as possible, trying to waddle as fast as she could but not getting far. That had been stupid. Now they were both dead. She'd just be first.

Before Joker could get any farther however Jonathan leapt on his back and began striking futile but surprising blows to his face. Gabe quickly made to prepare another syringe but the moment Joker's shock wore off Jonathan found himself being throw across the room into the wall as the alarms began to sound.

Joker growled under his breath and took off after glancing back at Adrian and winking at her.

"I'll get you yet my pretty!" he laughed, "Don't wait up."

Jonathan found himself bolting upright in fury now and immediately crashed to the floor unconscious at the sudden movement.

Adrian looked around the room in panic now. In the span of less than ten minutes two orderlies were dead, Jonathan was unconscious, Gabe had been injured and probably had a broken rib or two, and she'd somehow managed to piss of the Joker all because someone had killed Curiosity before he had the chance. She shuddered to think of what the clown had had in mind and couldn't help but think that she had probably gotten off easy in comparison to what the clown had had in store for her.


	21. Callous

Evil Intent part 21

Curiosity looked at her thread barren Arkham uniform with distaste as she stepped off the midnight train. The thing smelled horrible and she found herself wondering when the last time it had been washed was. She'd insisted that Ra's stay out of the city until her work was finished. He'd supply the guns and means for Gotham's destruction but she'd orchestrate it. If it weren't for the fact that he had raised her from Hell and had happily supplied her with the tools necessary for Gotham's destruction she would have gladly killed him. She still might… although at the moment that would be a waste. She wasn't quite sure if she was even really thankful for the resurrection. No one owned her and she wanted to make that VERY clear.

She turned the corner on fifth and main and climbed a nearby fire escape and looked for a window that she could pry open. When she'd finally found one after the eighth try she slid in without a sound and immediately made use of the kitchen drawer, raiding it for knives and finding a pizza cutter as well.

She mused at this and touched her chin in thought before turning around and looking for the unfortunate tenant. She'd have a little fun tonight. The one good thing about this city was that killers never went without victims. There was always going to be the idiot who left his door unlocked or the orderly to torture beyond all recognition.

She laughed darkly at this and paused to examine a few picture frames as she made her way to the bedroom. When she saw the pictures however she broke out into hysterical laughter and pounded her fist on the dining room table.

When she'd finally recovered she wiped the tears from her eyes and a smile crept across her lips as she gazed at the dead fish in the bowl on the table.

"Let me guess… Bubbles the 23rd?" she laughed, "Looks like I'll at least stop the madness at 23. There won't be any bubbles the 24th anytime soon!"

Suddenly she sobered up and realized her laughter probably should have alerted Gabe to her presence if he were there. Although what did she care if he had. Either he was shitting himself in his bedroom at the thought of a dead woman coming to kill him or he wasn't home and she'd have to skip the fun for the time being until he came home.

"Oh Gabe…" she taunted darkly but there was no answer so she kicked the door in only to find the bedroom empty.

"Shit. I was hoping I'd get to have a little fun tonight…" she whined slightly but shrugged after a moment and headed for the bathroom, "Oh, well. Least he's got a shower and clothes. That's good enough for me at this point."

At this she flung her tattered uniform on the back of the couch and made her way for the bathroom, locking it behind her and turning the heat up to wear it was almost scalding hot.

Gabe slowly climbed the stairs to his apartment, holding his aching ribs every few minutes as he stopped to breathe. When he finally unlocked the door he raised his eyebrows as he heard the shower running.

"Adrian?" he asked warily and when he got no answer but the water stopping he tried again, "Cube?"

Curiosity grimaced as she looked at the towel rack to find it empty but opened the door anyway.

"Nope." She said indifferently, making her way to his room, ignoring his dumbfounded look.

"You… you're…" he stammered.

"Where do you keep your clothes?" she asked, ignoring him once more.

"You're supposed to be dead…" he breathed, "I saw it on the news…"

"Yeah? You will be to if you don't give me some clothes and quit staring." She said, raiding his drawers once more.

Gabe's face turned beat red and he turned away from her.

"Top drawer, dresser on the left side of the bed." He directed.

"Thank you." she said and slipped on a pair of gray sweatpants and an oversized black button up shirt.

"How and why are you here?" he asked and she made her way around to face him now, "I saw the surveillance tape. You were dead…"

"Still am… kind of." She said with a shrug, "Now do you have something to eat? I'm starving. Bleeding to death takes a lot out of you." she said as if she were talking about a morning jog.

Gabe simply stood there dumbfounded and stared at her and she gave him a pitiless stare.

"I asked you where the food was. Now tell me and stop staring at me or I'll find some very interesting things to do with your pizza cutter over there." She threatened and he immediately jumped to the kitchen and began making a bowl of microwave chili, "That's better." She acknowledged and plopped down on his couch.

"You know I had every intention of coming in here and killing you but you weren't home and now I'm tired and don't feel like putting the effort in when I know you're just going to whine, especially with broken ribs. It's no fun if I didn't give them to you in the first place. No fighting chance." She explained callously, flipping the TV on, "Are they still playing that news report from the drive in?" she asked casually.

Gabe's face paled now.

"Yeah… how are you here? He stabbed you in the chest…" he asked and she made a sign with her hand as if he talked too much.

"You sound like a broken record. I already told you: I'm here, dead in the flesh." She said taking the bowl of chili from him and shoveling it down greedily, "Hell's a little warm for my tastes. At least by coming back here I'll get to send the entire city there. At least I'll have company." She laughed but in a way that seemed to say "Laugh and I'll use your intestines to hang you from the ceiling fan.".

Gabe swallowed dryly and she smiled broadly before directing her attention back at the television and swallowing another spoonful of chili.

Gabe glanced at the phone beside him but she simply swallowed another spoonful.

"Tell anyone I'm here and I'll kill both you and them in the most inhumane way possible." She said simply.

"Zai's worried about you." he said, "She thinks you're dead."

"I am. The rule goes for Zai to." She said callously, "I was stupid to think I could have friends anyway. Care about anyone even yourself and people will find a way to use it against you and kill you. She should stay away for her own safety. If I see her. I'll kill her." She said pitilessly, finishing the bowl and tossing it back at him haphazardly, "As if you aren't all just going to die anyway." She shrugged before lining her pockets with the knives stuffed in her Arkham uniform on the back of the couch.

"I'll take the bed. You can have the couch." She said with an indifferent yawn, heading into the bedroom and slamming the door behind her, "Night Gabe. Twisted dreams and sweet nightmares."


	22. Appetite for Disaster

Evil Intent part 22

As soon as Curiosity shut the door Gabe's hand shot out for the phone and he rushed into the bathroom, closing the door behind him before beginning to dial 911. Just when he was about to push the last 1 however he stopped and cleared it with a frown. What would he tell them anyway?

"Hey, I'm not crazy of anything but yeah, I have a dead girl in my apartment." He mocked himself and then quickly dialed the only other number he knew off the top of his head.

When Adrian picked up she was groggy and more than a little irritated.

"What the hell Gabe? It's 1 A.M. for Christ's sake. Don't you sleep?" she asked in an annoyed tone but rubbed her eyes and listened, "What's wrong?"

"Get over here now! And bring your taser. You're never going to believe who's in my apartment and just so you don't call me a nutcase before you see it for yourself and not going to tell you until you come over. Just be careful and be quiet. I'd rather not find out what she intends to do with my pizza cutter…" he swallowed in a whisper.

A moment later however the door to the bathroom swung open and Curiosity knocked her knuckles rhythmically against the door frame before grabbing the phone from him.

"Gabe? Gabe, who's there?" Adrian asked worriedly.

"Gabe can't come to the phone right now. He's dealing with some demons at the moment, one of them being me." Curiosity laughed, "I'm sure you'll see him later… although depending on how good a host he is you may or may not want to see him again. Well I've got to go. Gabe and I have a little business to attend to. Ta ta Adrian… See you soon." She said, hanging up the phone with a cruel laugh.

Gabe's eyes widened and he picked up the nearest thing he could find to hit her with: the lid to the tank on the toilet.

Curiosity simply smirked at him however and slid to the side gracefully as he went to bring it down on her. When he stumbled forward she then took advantage of this and tripped him, inadvertently using his own weapon against him as the lid fell on his head.

"Ah… I wanted to have a little fun… You're no good to me unconscious." She said, tipping his face to the side with her foot and kicking the lid away.

A smile slid over her lips a moment later however and she began searching the house for more fun "tools" to use on him.

"Oh Gabe…" she prodded, brushing the tip of something along his nose.

He wrinkled his nose at this and sneezed before opening his eyes wide to find himself tied to one of his dining room chairs next to the stove. He immediately went to move away from both her and the stove but couldn't get very far thanks to the ropes, seemingly made of his bed sheets, tying him to the refrigerator door handle.

Curiosity smirked at him and hummed a little as she stirred vegetables in a frying pan.

"I thought you ought to be awake for this. You see I wasn't satisfied with just the chili. I'm still a bit hungry. I figured I'd try a different course…" she said darkly but in a more professional tone of voice looking at him as she said course before casting her gaze back to the stir fry in the pan.

After a moment however an idea struck her and she smiled maliciously before fishing, whatever number, Bubbles out of his bowl and throwing him into the pan as well, whistling a little before sliding the "meal" onto the plate in front of him.

"Here's the appetizer. I'm afraid I don't think you would enjoy the main course much so I prepared this especially for you. We'll be having chocolate for desert. I've always wondered what blood and chocolate would taste like together. Do you know? No? Well, we'll just have to try it tonight. Our own special recipe." She grinned and sat down, folding her hands beneath her chin as she watched him from across the table.

Gabe paled to an almost deathly pallor and began to sweat a little and she gave him a ravenous smile that chilled him to the bone.

"You know… I'm really not all that hungry or curious for that matter. Now if you would just let me go…" Gabe said in a futile attempt, holding up his bound wrists.

Curiosity laughed hysterically now and then grinned broadly.

"Relax Gabe. I may be a lot of things but I'm not a cannibal. Although if you call anyone else I might reconsider." She said, getting within inches of his face so that she could stare into his eyes maliciously, "Got it?" she asked in a sickly sweet tone and he swallowed dryly before nodding his head.

At this Curiosity smiled and straightened before turning to leave the kitchen, snatching her tattered Arkham uniform from the back of the couch.

"Now, I'm going to get some sleep. Don't go anywhere…" she laughed and winked at him, picking the fish off his plate and swallowing it with a feral grin before leaving.

Gabe's pulse skyrocketed now and he thought he was going to be sick. A moment later he heard a door slam and the bedsprings sigh in protest.

He quickly began working on the bindings around his wrists but found they were so tight they only rubbed his wrists raw every time he attempted to free them. He sighed in exhaustion about ten minutes later and was about to give up before he heard the lock to his apartment click open and saw Adrian quietly step inside.

At first it seemed she didn't see him, her eyes sweeping the disheveled apartment in horror that was only replaced when her eyes fell on him and they filled with both relief and terror.

"What happened?" she asked in a low whisper.

"Can't I sleep for 15 minutes without something like this happening?" Curiosity muttered grumpily from the bedroom doorway, tapping her fingers against the wood in an irritated fashion that suggested she felt she was dealing with a couple of naughty children.

Adrian spun around to face Curiosity in shock and Curiosity waved at her with a mocking smile.

"Told you that you wouldn't believe me…" Gabe said his voice tight with fear now.


	23. Unease

Evil Intent part 23

Adrian rubbed her eyes to make sure what she was seeing was in fact real and Curiosity gave her an unenthused stare.

"Yeah, yeah I'm dead. I already explained it all to nimrod over there. It seems he forgot to mention that. It seems he's forgotten a LOT of things I've told him already. Haven't you Gabe?" she asked her eyes boring into him now with something of distaste in them.

Gabe swallowed and Adrian flipped out her tazer to which Curiosity gave her a deadpan look.

"I've been stabbed and killed by someone I used to love, been mutilated and humiliated in Hell, been resurrected as a demon, had Gabe walk in on me after a shower, and now you're planning on tazing me? Go ahead, poke the bear! Whether you taze me or not you're all going to be dead in a few days anyway." She said icily, "All I wanted was a nap, a shower, and something at least halfway edible."

Adrian shifted her eyes briefly to Gabe before lowering the tazer but not putting it away.

"What do you mean we'll all be dead in a few days anyway?" she demanded coolly.

A wry smile traced Curiosity's lips for a brief moment before disappearing into a flat line once more. "Why do you think I'm not in Hell? I was resurrected to do one thing: bring all of Gotham back down with me." she said darkly, her eyes flicking up to meet Adrian's directly, "Now while far be it for me to take orders from anyone destroying Gotham is something that seems to be right up my alley right about now considering how WELL my week has gone."

Suddenly the echo of sirens sounded in the distance and Curiosity frowned in distaste before turning toward the window to the fire escape, a knife in hand.

"Oh and Addy? Just so you know… your brother Neil is just dying to see you again. I'm sure you'll see him soon enough though. " she laughed, causing Adrian to drop the tazer with her mouth agape as she leapt from the window onto the fire escape, "Ta ta for now…"

Adrian collapsed to her knees a moment later and Gabe attempted to scoot the chair toward her to make sure she was alright.

"Adrian?" he asked carefully, wishing he could put his hand on her shoulder in consolation.

Adrian didn't answer for a long time and then suddenly her mouth closed into a tight determined line.

"Where's Zai?" she asked suddenly, turning toward Gabe and Gabe only shook his head sadly.

"I'm not sure. She came to the hospital in tears saying Curiosity was dead. I tried to console her and tell her that maybe she wasn't. Maybe the "Ra's Al Ghul" from the news took her to a hospital or something and that seemed to cheer her up but then she took off looking for the guy and I haven't seen her since." He explained, shaking his head slightly, "Why?"

"Then that's where we're going. If this "Ra's Al Ghul" was the guy who resurrected her. My guess is this is HIS doing and if we don't want to end up dead in a few days we're going to have to find him soon and figure out what the hell's going on." She explained.

"You actually believe that stuff?" Gabe asked aghast.

"Only one person has ever called me Addy… There's no way she could have known that. It's crazy as hell but then again so is this city." She said, shaking her head and working at untying him.

"Yeah? And how exactly are we supposed to find this guy? No offense but you're about to pop and I literally just got out of the hospital with a concussion and two broken ribs." Gabe asked and Adrian gave him a look that almost made him wish he were still having dinner with Curiosity.

"Zai's going to look for this guy already. Do you really want to let her look for someone by herself that's planning on wiping out the entire city? Besides, if we don't stop him it won't matter if you're injured or I'm pregnant, we'll both be dead if we don't stop him somehow. Not to mention the fact that I have someone who would be just willing to help us with this." She smiled coolly.

"Who?" Gabe asked a little worriedly.

Adrian smirked and pulled out her phone, dialing a number and ignoring him.

"Hey Alfred, we have a situation and Bruce is going to want to hear about it." She said urgently.

Zai was about to launch in on an angry retort followed by a rash assortment of questions when Detective Yin walked in from the kitchen with a cup of coffee, nearly spilling it upon seeing her.

"It's all right Ellen. Things are going well." Talia soothed but Yin seemed unconvinced and stared back at Zai for a long moment.

Talia gave her a calm but stern look and motioned for her to settle down and she warily crossed her arms and set her coffee down.

Talia watched with a hint of worry as Zai stared heatedly at Yin. She had expected a little tension if these two were ever to cross paths but not to this extent. It made her wonder what had happened between them other than the obvious cop and criminal relationship to make them so hostile toward one another.

"What is she doing here?" Yin finally asked Talia, turning to look at her.

"I could ask you the same thing." Zai said heatedly, angry that Yin was talking about her as if she weren't right in front of her.

"This is MY apartment." Yin shot back with a heated look before turning back to Talia, "Give me one reason I shouldn't call this in." she demanded.

At this Talia gave her a simmering look that immediately silenced her before she continued.

"Should I remind you that you asked for my help? Trust me, there's a method to my madness." She reminded coolly and Yin let the matter drop for the moment, silently shifting her gaze back to Zai.

"Now, I assume you came here for a reason considering we've only just met and you didn't seem to be expecting me to be here." Talia said, smoothing the wrinkles out of her nightgown before looking up again.

Zai glanced up at Yin and then slowly shifted her eyes back to Talia.

"I'm trying to find someone. I thought she might know where I could find him." She admitted grudgingly, making her meaning clear only to Yin with her eyes.

"Then we're all looking for the same person." Yin said resolutely but looking away, "Ethan's crossed the line this time. We… have to find him."

"And why's she here?" Zai asked, gesturing toward Talia.

"Her father was at the drive in that night. She's the best lead I have at the moment…" Yin started.

"I'm somewhat of a detective myself. It's my father's goal to cleanse this city and I'd like to do anything I can to help him with that goal, starting with bringing your friend's killers to justice." Talia finished admirably, her eyes telling Zai a completely different story.

For some reason she got the feeling Talia was simply using Yin as an excuse to help find someone herself. Her words seemed hollow and forced to her ears but to Yin's they must have seemed courageous because she smiled a little hopefully, if not a little grimly, at the remark and nodded in agreement.

To Zai it seemed now that Talia was simply tolerating Yin's presence and in reality felt no obligation to actually help her with anything unless it suited her own needs, strengthening her own feeling that Talia was in fact a snake. It almost seemed as if she'd already found at least part of what she was looking for and was simply waiting until she could engage the next part in her plan. It was very hard to conceive but she found herself feeling more distaste for Talia than she did for Yin herself and all things considered that was certainly an accomplishment.


	24. Daddy's Little Demon

Evil Intent part 24

Curiosity sped through puddles as she raced through the back alleys of the narrows. Normally she stayed clear of this particular street but tonight seemed to be the exception. She could honestly care less about anything at this point. Even torturing Gabe and Adrian had only given her the slightest inkling of sadistic pleasure.

Even the sting of the cold rain against her face as she ran barely registered. She felt somehow… hollow. It was as if something had been forcibly pulled out of her but she couldn't exactly place what it was. Haley was gone of course but she'd spent years trying to rid herself of the pestilence she'd come to call a conscience. Still, even with Haley gone, she'd expected to feel… something, not this hollow emptiness.

She'd remedy that soon enough however. She hadn't set foot in the building for 11 years. She'd come close in the last few months, she'd lingered at the driveway once and even gotten to the front step the second time but tonight she was only left a bit confused as to why she was unable to go inside before.

In five strides she was up the driveway and onto the front step with her hand on the doorknob. After a slight moment she pushed the door to the abandoned apartment building open and stepped inside, pausing for a slight moment as if she expected something to happen before heading up the long staircase to the apartments above. The stairs groaned in protest and she stepped around two holes before reaching the top and making her way down the hall past all the apartments.

She wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for. Her memories were hazy at best. Sure she remembered the basics of what had happened to her and to her family but for the most part it was as if she were grasping at wisps of smoke that carried only small pieces of who she used to be. It was almost as if she were witnessing someone else's memories. She was the main character but the emotions seemed to belong to someone else entirely. It felt alien to walk these same halls now, as if the place had never been remotely capable of being called a home to anyone, let alone herself.

After walking for about five minutes she stopped in front of room #666 and tilted her head slightly as she tried the door. When she looked inside however it was clear this had never been her home. A fire had rampaged through the kitchen and a hot wheels track lay in the center of the floor as if waiting for some long lost kid to come and play with it one last time before it moldered into dust, a pink apron with the words "World's Best Mom" partially scorched lay on the floor next to the marble countertop, a pair of men's dress pants lay on an ironing board in the living room, a hole singed through the fabric where the iron used to be.

It made her wonder slightly what had happened here but never the less she turned away and made her way down the hall, taking the time to look at all the numbers throughout the hall. It seemed as if each door led to a different place in time. A place where once there had been something wonderful but now had been left to rust and decay and the only things left were obscure memories and vague possibilities that the residents would someday return and relive those happy moments captured in the timeless numbered doorways.

The thought angered her slightly and she found herself destroying everything she could lay her hands on, swinging dining room chairs into walls of crumbling plaster, stepping on toys and grinding them into unrecognizable shapes, and finally ripping the doors themselves off their hinges until she was thoroughly exhausted and had had enough for one night.

She looked around at the pointless damage she'd done and lowered her lids as she tossed the board in her hand aside and she found herself cursing god for making a world where rot and decay ate at anything worth living for.

After a few more breathless swears she kicked down a door at the end of the hall that she'd left untouched and leapt onto an old spring mattress, wondering why she'd even come to such a place, such a dump.

She rolled her eyes at herself. As if it mattered anyway. It was temporary just like everything else. Within the next few days everything would be gone.

For some insane reason this comforted her and she curled up on the bed and fell asleep, not even realizing the apartment she'd chosen to sleep in had once been her own, and a framed picture of her father, mother, and a younger version of herself sat on the nightstand next to her. The apartment #777 on the door glittering dully from under mounds of dust as the sun rose.

When she awoke she found a homeless man staring at her and she half-consciously flipped him off.

"Well isn't daddy's little girl all grown up?" He smirked and gestured toward the picture with his eyes.

She glanced at the picture in a slightly annoyed manner, taking in the fact that this was in fact her apartment silently before turning back to him.

"Yeah, and "Daddy's little girl" is getting very irritated and doesn't feel like entertaining houseguests." She said icily, "Now leave." She ordered.

"You trashed my apartment last night." He said unflinchingly, narrowing his eyes at her.

She rose to her feet now and looked him directly in the eyes, realizing he was at least a foot and a half taller than she was.

"And?" she asked curtly.

"And… you're going to pay for the damages." He said threateningly to which she gave him a deadpan stare.

"You're an idiot. I'm not paying you anything…" she started and he shoved her up against the wall, breaking the picture frame.

"Who said you had a choice?" he asked and in that moment she found herself laughing hysterically, catching him by surprise.

She flashed her teeth at him now and pulled her knife out from the seat of her pants, slashing it at his waist and disemboweling him.

He gaped in shock for a moment before letting her go and collapsing to the floor in front of her.

She casually stepped over him now and replaced the cracked picture frame on the nightstand, licking the blood from her fingers.

"More like daddy's little demon." She muttered before heading out, pulling Adrian's jacket over her blood stained shirt and zipping it up all the way before heading down to the cemetery. Who knew she'd ever be attending her own funeral?


	25. You Look Like You've Just Seen A Ghost

Evil Intent part 25

The services had just begun and Chance checked his watch to make sure he had the right time. No one had shown up. He was tempted to get closer but didn't want to be recognized and instead pretended to be visiting another grave nearby, his hood up both because it cold and humid and because he didn't want to be recognized. Finally a man finally showed up dressed in a long purple trench coat with a light brown fedora on, covering his eyes.

He grimaced slightly and wondered briefly if the man were only there to mock her. He looked as if he were smiling under his hat and the colors he wore seemed more appropriate for a clown than for a man paying his respects at a funeral. Although to his credit the man's smile seemed to be forced and after a moment he reached into his jacket and withdrew a rose and threw it on top of the coffin before walking away and out of sight.

Chance half expected something to happen as he noticed a lock of green hair make its way out from under the man's fedora but nothing did and carefully he approached the coffin and looked at the rose with interest. A small message was tied to the stem reading: "For once I'm not smiling."

Chance stood there for a long time afterward and the preacher left after patting him on the shoulder consolingly.

Curiosity tilted her head slightly at the scene in front of her and crossed her arms before speaking.

"Expected this place to be empty. Have you come to gloat?" she asked and Chance whirled around to face her, nearly tripping over one of the chairs as he threw himself away from her, thinking he'd seen a ghost.

"You… you're dead." He stammered.

"This IS my funeral." She said casually, stepping up to the coffin and picking up the rose to examine it, quirking an eyebrow at the message before casting it aside.

"Only because you didn't finish the job." She muttered to herself before returning her attention to Chance.

"What's the matter? You look like you've just seen a ghost." She smirked, "I just stopped by to tell you that I'll be seeing you VERY soon." She smirked before striding up to him and pecking him on the lips, "See you around…" she laughed as she disappeared through the cemetery gates and into the fog, pulling her hood up so as to remain inconspicuous.

Chance reeled at this and touched his tingling lips in both amazement and horror.

"See you soon…" he breathed, realizing immediately what she meant by the haunting message.

In that moment he found himself chilled to the very pit of his soul. She was the only person who could ever turn his world upside down, forward, backward, and right side up again. No matter what reason brought them together she always managed to twist his every will around her. It was as if they were always playing a game of cat and mouse although he was never sure whether he was in fact the cat or if he was only a gullible mouse deceived into thinking that he was the cat by a far more devious cat. It made him sick to think about it. Even in death she held his fate and wrapped it around her little finger as she taunted him with it.

He touched his lips again and wondered how any of this was even remotely possible, such a carnal sensation as a kiss gently tracing his lips when the girl herself had perished days ago. It baffled him and left him cold inside. The kiss was nothing like the warm kissed they'd once shared years ago but rather the kiss of death he was sure.

He collapsed to the ground and thought over this for a long moment before spotting the rose beside him and gently picked it up before examining the message once more.

"For once I'm not smiling…" he read aloud and then remembered her words, "Only because you didn't finish the job."

A crease formed at his brow now as he acknowledged just who had laid the flower on her grave. No doubt the clown was angry with him for stealing his precious revenge.

His anger died quickly though and he thought upon the clown's reasoning for his revenge. Was it much different from his own? Would he not be angry with the clown if it was he who had exacted his revenge before him? How many enemies had she made? How many others had wanted her dead or worse? If they'd succeeded in their attempts would he have been angry with them as well? Vowed his revenge against them instead? It was all rather pointless. Directing a new vendetta against someone with your same goals and thinking in mind. It was sad. He supposed in a way he'd actually given her a less painful way to go than others might have. And though he hated her for what she'd done he took a little comfort in this fact. He had in fact loved her once. Foolish as it was he had loved her… he still loved her although that love was so polluted with betrayal and hurt he'd wanted nothing more than to exorcise the monstrosity he'd come to call his heart. He'd loved his father dearly but to say everything he'd done was in his name alone would be a lie that even he couldn't force himself into believing.

He'd thought that in killing her he could stop the ache in his chest but it didn't. If anything it only intensified it with grief. It changed nothing. The only thing he'd really accomplished was killing the one person he'd both truly loved and hated, two emotions so strong that without a direction in which to point them left him with no sense of purpose and a hollow hole in his chest for which it seemed nothing could ever fill.

But now, even despite the bitter warning of his impending fate he found himself feeling whole once more. Even if he was terrified and clueless and perhaps insane he in the very least knew she wasn't completely gone and that gave him hope.

It seemed as though he'd been there for hours when in fact he had probably laid there only a few minutes. Suddenly he shot up straight and bolted off in the direction she'd gone. Ghost or not, crazy or not, he was going to find her… even if he died trying.


	26. Fury's Flame

Evil Intent part 26

Alfred stared at Bruce as he put the phone down solemnly and looked up at him.

"Is something wrong?" he asked in a concerned tone.

"She's alive, Alfred. He brought her back. She hasn't killed anyone yet as far as they know but she strapped Gabriel Williams to a chair in his kitchen and told Adrian that in a few days all of Gotham would be dead… she included Zai in that statement." He said solemnly.

Alfred's eyes widened slightly but then grew solemn as well and he put a hand on Bruce's shoulder in a comforting manner.

Curiosity approached the old drive-in with a hollow look in her eyes as a black SUV pulled up to greet her.

Talia looked a bit sick as she handed her a small red candle stick with a black wick.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked sternly, not letting go of the candle even as it lay in Curiosity's palm.

Curiosity nodded gravely and grasped it tightly.

"What do I really have left to lose?" she asked a bit sadly before turning her back on Talia and walking away.

Talia seemed to struggle with her conscience for a moment but then nodded and resolutely turned the key and sped out of the drive-in once more.

Curiosity looked down at the candle in her palm.

"Through me you enter into the city of woes, through me you enter into eternal pain, through me you enter the population of loss . . . Abandon all hope, you who enter here." She laughed hollowly and began walking back to the Ace Chemical Factory.

"Is it poetic or sad that I want to end it all where it all began?" she asked no one in particular and when she got no answer she smirked, "Eh, doesn't matter, I'm fucked anyway." She laughed.

Zai slid her eyes over to Yin momentarily.

"Would you mind if Talia and I had a moment in private?" she asked in the most positive tone she could manage.

Yin smiled tightly but nodded and headed to the kitchen and Talia opened the apartment door so that they could talk in the hallway.

"Where's Curiosity?" she demanded the moment they were out of earshot of Yin.

Talia smiled wanly at this and then checked her watch.

"She should be in Gotham by now although my guess is that she's probably sleeping. Jet lag and being resurrected from the dead tends to take quite a bit out of people." She said drily.

Zai glared at her. "You're up to something. I don't know what it is but I'm going to find out." She hissed before turning around and heading back down the stairs to find the man in the lobby still passed out.

She picked up an empty beer can off the floor from near his desk and chucked it at him angrily before leaving, causing him to fall off the bed wondering what in the hell had just happened.

When she made it out of the apartment building and across the street she finally broke down and let white hot tears race down her cheeks, both of relief and worry. She was grateful that Curiosity WAS in fact alive but at the same time she wondered at what cost that came. Talia and her father obviously had their own agendas and she could only wonder at what evil intentions they had in store for her friend that would be worth bringing her back from the dead.

She suddenly wiped her tears away angrily. Crying about things didn't change anything. If she was going to find Curiosity she would have to think. Where would Curiosity go when she had no place to go? The police had swarmed her house after her death thanks to Batman. Where would she go…?

She thought for a long time before an idea hit her. She'd lived in Gotham before they'd met. Perhaps she'd gone back to the place she used to live when she was still Haley. She thought about this notion for a long moment and finally set on finding where exactly that was from the only person she knew who would know exactly where to look: Joker.

When Curiosity finally made it to the Ace Chemical Factory she looked at the candle and sat it on the edge of the railing of the catwalk the Joker had been shoved over to fall into the vat of chemicals and looked at the spot a few feet from her where her father had been shot. She could almost see everything happening again in slow motion and tears fell thickly from her thick black lashes. She wiped her eyes and felt her heart sink into her stomach hopelessly as she once again gazed at the candle.

She finally fished around in Adrian's jacket pocket only to find that there were no matches.

She sighed, she'd half hoped Adrian was a smoker like Strange but she supposed that was too much to hope for. Adrian WAS pregnant after all.

Instead she made her way down the catwalk and to the parking lot across the street, picking a junky car out that had one window cracked. She gracefully slid her arm down and pulled up on the lock, jerking the car door open, its rusty frame screeching slightly in protest as she did so. She smiled when she finally saw the cigarette lighter on the dash and pulled it out before slamming the door closed once more and walking back over to the Chemical Factory.

Just when she was about to cross the street once more however she saw the Joker's van speeding up the road.

"Nice…" she muttered but then sighed, "Might as well scare the Hell out of him. Ought to be amusing to see if the clown can get any paler…" she said, walking across the street and picking up a rather good sized piece of concrete off the chipping curb and hurling it through the windshield of the van.

Joker ducked and immediately leapt from his van with intent to kill before seeing her.

She waved at him with a smug smirk, leaning up against the chain link fence surrounding the factory now and grinned as he took a step back in shock.

"I really am crazy…" he said, rubbing his eyes and she laughed.

"And you need me to prove that?" she asked.

He tilted his head at her now and then shrugged with a mad grin.

"Hallucination or not this ought to be fun…" he laughed, advancing on her.

"Try demon." She offered and flashed her teeth at him before laughing and lighting the candle, "I'll see you in Hell Jack!" she said before disappearing out of thin air in front of him.

Joker rubbed his eyes again and then looked at his clearly smashed windshield before laughing hysterically and hopping back behind the wheel.

"See you in Hell kid!" he called back to the space where she'd been as he pulled away.


	27. All It Will Cost

Evil Intent part 27

Curiosity felt as if her body were on fire once more and slammed her eyes shut until the pain suddenly diminished and a tall man of about 7'2" with white blond hair and white eyes stood before her. He regarded her with interest and smiled hungrily at her.

"I see Ra's has given you his candle… though I can't say I'm disappointed." He smiled and she suddenly found herself sickened by him.

"Let's cut to the chase. You know why I'm here." She said, meeting his white eyes as he lowered to her level.

"You want to make a deal." He smiled again and she nodded, fighting the urge to spit on him as he looked her up and down, "Alright, what are your terms?" he asked, tilting his head to the side slightly.

"I want to destroy Gotham." She stated, looking away for a moment, unable to meet his eyes while saying this.

"And in return?" he asked evilly.

Curiosity met his eyes coldly now and saw her own reflection staring back at her from their depths.

"My soul." She said, seeming to see another version of herself in his eyes that didn't correspond with her movements.

His smile somehow seemed to get wider now and he looked hungrier and her attention was drawn to his mouth as his jaws seemed to unhinge like a snake's and he gripped her shoulders.

"Your wish is my command." He laughed, causing her to realize that his teeth were a great deal larger and sharper than hers.

Her eyes widened and then she reflexively slammed them closed as she was pulled inside but to her surprise instead of finding herself being engulfed by the demon she found herself lying on the cool pavement outside of Ace Chemical Factory, the smoldering remains of the candle lying beside her and beads of cold sweat running down her face, reminding her of drool.

She shivered in revulsion and rubbed her shoulders as she stood, her jacket still smelled of the demon's putrid breath and as she looked up at the sky she saw dark clouds swirling overhead.

She suddenly felt stronger as if she were somehow part of the storm itself and she took in a shaky breath before making her way down to the nearest TV station.

When she'd got there a few reporters were rushing in and out of the building, nearly colliding with her in the process and she muttered to herself as she swung the doors open and stepped inside, dropping the hood on her jacket to show the reporters around her.

"Miss me?" she asked with a sharp toothed grin.

Several people paled now and the entire office went dead silent as she stepped forward and walked up to the desk.

"Put me on." She demanded, the storm growing stronger around them and causing two windows to break from the force of the wind before her face softened and the winds calmed down, "Now." She ordered.

The man nodded and nearly tripped over his own feet as he stepped out from behind the desk to lead her back to the filming area.

She followed him silently as thunder boomed in the distance and she stepped in front of the camera, alighting every television in Gotham.

"Good Afternoon Gotham! Miss me? Of course not, half of you've tried to kill me or lock me away for the rest of my life, one of you succeeded." She grinned, "Now I'm going to return the favor. Before I do so however there is someone I would like to see. Chance, you know where to find me. To all the other villains in Gotham: if you want to find the true identity of the Batman you'll find him at Wayne Manor. That's the only consolation I'm giving you because through me you enter into the city of woes, through me you enter into eternal pain, through me you enter the population of loss. . . .Abandon all hope, you who enter Gotham city. I'll see you in Hell." She finished, cutting the connection as the camera man and everyone else in the office left the building for fear of their lives as lightning struck the equipment in front of them and she stepped out from in front of the camera and waited behind the man's desk for Chance to arrive.

Chance stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the news broadcast alight the large screen on Main Street. She was going to kill him; did she really expect him to come? He would… but still… to expect him to come to her was a little presumptuous wasn't it?

It wasn't until that moment however that he noticed the storm brewing overhead and as the lightning flashed and cut the connection he couldn't help but glimpse something like a man standing behind her.

He rubbed his eyes and then gripped his head in his hands.

What was going on? He'd killed her and now not only was she back from the dead but she'd proclaimed Gotham the entrance to Hell, she was planning on killing everyone in the city, and now he was seeing white eyed men in the lightning behind her.

Now he understood why she expected him to come to her… curiosity kills after all… That or she'd discovered that he'd finally snapped before he had. She seriously made his head hurt.

He wearily shook his head and ran for the TV station, the hood of his jacket pulled up as the rain came down in heavy painful sheets. The storm only seemed to be getting stronger the closer he got to the station and a part of him wondered if it weren't an omen of something horrible.

When he finally made it inside the TV station he saw Curiosity standing at the desk waiting for him, tears in her eyes as the screens around them lit up with unknown electricity that wasn't shared with the lights or other amenities of the building.

He watched as cars were lifted off roadways and roofs were torn apart as families clung to one another against light polls and were torn away from one another one by one.

"It all starts as a gentle breeze…" she sobbed, the rain beating down harder than ever as she did so, "I thought this is what I wanted, to show you the destruction of the city that's been the basis of my creation and destruction and know that it was your fault… but now that I see it I want nothing to do with it. Even I didn't think I'd be capable of ripping apart families… although I've done it before I suppose." She stated guiltily, looking away, "I'm no better than your father… worse." She amended, taking another look at the ravaged city on the screen.

Chance stared in horror at the city for a long moment before closing his eyes and walking up to her, holding her tightly in his arms and letting her sob into his chest despite her initial struggles against letting him comfort her.

"What have you done?" he asked slowly but not angrily, rubbing her shoulders gently.

"She sold her soul." Another voice rang out from behind him and he spun around to face the man he'd seen in the lightning on the screen, "To destroy Gotham."


	28. Destruction

Evil Intent part 28

Adrian and Gabe ran for the TV station as fast as they could, after that announcement there was no way Bruce was going to be able to help them. Every villain in the city was going to swarm his front gates now.

The storm seemed to be getting stronger now and they had to stop a moment and take cover in an alley from the ferocious winds that threatened to sweep them off their feet.

Adrian took several deep breathes before realizing that the puddle beneath her wasn't from the storm.

"Gabe…" she started and Gabe breathed hard as he turned to face her.

"Yeah?"

"I think my water just broke." She said through gritted teeth, breathing more heavily now.

"Shit! Uh, ok… ok… just uh… take deep breaths." He advised, not knowing what else to do.

"We have to get inside." She said, pointing to the door of the TV station, "The wind is going to suck us right out of here." She advised, trying to make her way to the door as best she could, having to practically scream over the roar of the wind.

Gabe nodded and rushed up to her to help her inside, prying the door open for her, having to press his foot against the side of the building to get enough leverage to do so.

The moment they got inside they found that they weren't the only ones with the idea to get to the TV station. Zai, Joker, Scarecrow, Talia, and Yin all gasped for breath just inside the door.

Zai looked over to see them and immediately rushed over to hug Gabe with tears in her eyes.

"Something's wrong Gabe, she wouldn't do this. She wouldn't even kill Joker because I'm her friend and now she's wiping out the city? Something's not right and I think it has something to do with her." She said, pointing an accusing finger at Talia, "She and her father resurrected her for some reason and when I found Joker and he said that he saw Curiosity disappear out of thin air with a candle in her hand right in front of him." She sobbed.

Adrian's contractions began to get closer together and she squeezed her eyes shut and sat down in one of the empty office chairs, causing everyone to take notice.

Yin's eyes widened at both the new discovery of what her new "partner" had done and at Adrian who was clearly going into labor and ready to have her baby NOW.

Without another word Yin was at Adrian's side coaching her through things as best she could.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Adrian asked breathlessly and Yin smiled wanly.

"I watched my aunt give birth… when I was 8." She admitted and Adrian gritted her teeth together as another contraction hit her.

"Wonderful…" she said sarcastically before the baby finally started to crown, Gabe fainted, and Jonathan pushed Yin out of the way to help her.

"I'll stay with her. Go take care of Haley." He said, tossing Zai a gun, "Do what you have to. Just stop this." He pleaded and Zai looked at the gun in horror before nodding and running to catch up with the others as they ran toward the broadcasting room.

"Tell me Chance, what is it YOU want?" Neron asked, getting closer to him, "A chance to see your father again? To bring him back?" he tempted, "All it'll cost is your soul."

Chance looked on in horror as a ghost of his father appeared in front of him but like the ghost of Hamlet the moment he tried to say something to him he was gone.

"All you have to do is say the word…" Neron tempted and Chance smiled evilly at him.

"Shut the hell up." He said before emptying his revolver into Neron's forehead.

To his surprise however Neron only looked rather irritated and the bullet holes in his forehead healed before his eyes.

Chance gaped and dropped the gun with a nervous laugh.

Neron smiled now. "My turn…" he said, slapping Chance and sending him across the room.

Curiosity glared at him now and attempted to disembowel him but only received the same end result and ended up across the room on the opposite side of Chance, moaning slightly before falling unconscious.

Talia smiled as she watched the scenes on the monitors and simply crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. Everything was going as planned.

Yin looked on in horror at the mess and at Talia who seemed to be smiling through it all.

Finally Adrian stepped through the doorway with a baby in her arms as the building began to deteriorate in the lobby as the door had been blown in.

When Jonathan entered holding another baby and saw the demon his eyes widened and he handed Adrian the other baby.

Yin had finally had enough and stepped forward.

"I'll give you my soul if you…" she started before a shot rang out and she fell to the floor as Talia lowered her gun.

Gabe leapt to Yin's side to see if he could help but froze as Talia fired off yet another shot that landed between his eyes.

"You were saying?" she asked the bodies sarcastically.

Joker laughed hysterically and another shot rang out as Jonathan shot Talia.

"She was SAYING I'll give you my soul if you kill that bitch." He snarled and she coughed up blood before drawing her gun once more, shooting Adrian by accident and then Jonathan.

"See you in Hell." She smiled, finally slumping to the floor.

By this time Joker had made his way over to Curiosity and began slapping her awake. She groaned slightly and raised her hand to her head as she opened her eyes to find Joker's grinning face an inch from hers.

"Let's finish this. First you… then your boyfriend." He smirked, flicking out a knife and beginning to carve a jack-o-lantern out of her face before a shot rang out and he suddenly stopped, blood emanating both from his chest and the left side of Curiosity's face.

He attempted to take a breath now and was rewarded only with warm blood gushing over his lips as he turned to face Zai who shakily held the gun with tears in her eyes before falling to the floor.

Curiosity looked at Zai now with wide eyes before watching as she herself lifted the gun to her head and shot herself.

Curiosity screamed so loud now it seemed she'd break the sound barrier if it she continued and she hurriedly crawled over to Zai with tears streaming down her face.

"No, no, no, no, no…" she sobbed and Chance dizzily got to his feet, feeling as if he had a concussion.

"Chloe?" he asked as he spotted her and then looked around the room to see everyone dead.

"They're all dead… they're all dead…" she repeated over and over to herself, rocking back and forth with Zai in her arms.

Chance suddenly turned his gaze to Neron who only smirked at her misery and advanced on him.

"I have a deal for you." he stated determinedly and Neron turned his attention to him.

"No, Chance, not you to…" Curiosity sobbed, "Please don't." she begged but he continued anyway.

"I'll give you my soul if you allow me to change the past to where she never made a deal with you." he said and Neron's smile vanished, morphing into a heated glare before everything suddenly vanished and he found himself running out of the cemetery gates.

Curiosity suddenly found herself throwing a piece of concrete through Joker's windshield and though she silently thanked everything she could that things were back to normal she also cursed the timing as Joker angrily got out of his van and spotted her.

"Shit…" she cursed but then saw Joker looking more and more confused before stopping completely.

"What in the Hell…" he started but then glared fiercely at her as, apparently, his memory of what had just happened and his death kicked in.


	29. To Kill or To Kiss

Evil Intent part 29

Curiosity took off at top speed away from Joker, scaling the fire-escape of the nearest building as he began to gain on her. Her flesh still stung from the fresh memory of him cutting into her face and she wasn't about to let him get another shot at it no matter how at odds with herself she was. She wasn't going to give the bastard the satisfaction.

However she had to give him credit, he WAS fast. He was catching up to her quickly and she could hear his foot falls echoing in time with her hammering heart as she barely managed to grasp the edge of the next building and hoist herself up. She had to stop screwing around and focus. She was going to get herself killed trying to get away from him and she'd be damned if she was going to die running for her life.

She sucked in a breath and held it now, tucking her chin in as she picked up her speed and headed toward the river. Joker picked up speed as well and laughed darkly as he began to catch up once more. She couldn't outrun him forever but if things worked out the way she planned she wouldn't have to… although she still had to keep some distance between them until they got to the dam.

Her lungs burned by the time she made it to the dam with Joker only a few strides behind her and close enough that she could feel his presence behind her. She smiled slightly and hopped onto the ledge, saluting to Joker before jumping off backwards.

He practically screamed in rage now and glared down at the water down below only to see a churning white fury of water.

A moment later however he'd launched himself over the side, only to see Curiosity waving at him as she clung to one of the many drainage spouts along the dam's sides.

She laughed weakly now as she watched him fall to the churning waters below and hoisted herself up so that the spout could support her full weight and she could finally breathe. Her whole body ached now and her arms felt like they were going to pop out of socket at any second. She'd managed to smack her leg on the side of the spout before flipping over to catch the rim and although she was pretty sure it wasn't broken it sure hurt like hell.

For a long moment she simply lay there on her back, catching her breath before hoisting herself up onto the pavement above to take one last look down to where Joker had finally bobbed to the surface and was swimming ashore.

"God forbid the clown drown even after he's jumped off the dam…" she muttered before giving Joker a tight smile when he looked back up at her and waving, "Yeah, I see you. Kill you later asshole." She said through her teeth, practically limping half-way home before realizing she no longer had a home to go to since the police investigation following her death.

She finally settled for a nice dark alley and sat up against the nearest wall, attempting to close her eyes before she felt someone standing in front of her.

"What now?" she asked irritated, leaving her eyes closed and rolling over, "If you're here to kill me go ahead, I'm exhausted and I don't really feel like dealing with you right now." She yawned.

"Tempting… but I think I'll pass." Chance said, offering her a hand as she cracked an eye at him, "Never been one for making things easy."

"Really? Wasn't expecting that." She said a bit shocked, pinching herself before turning back to him, "Sure you're real?" she smiled slightly, tilting her head at him and he smirked.

"As crazy as this week's been I'm not sure of anything anymore but yeah, I'm pretty positive I'm real." He laughed, pulling her to her feet.

"How'd you find me?" she asked.

"After you left me at the graveyard I started running for your house. I thought I could find you there if you were real." He smirked, "And just for the record I wasn't going to kill you then either. Once was enough."

"Lucky me…" she said unenthusiastically, pretending to wave an invisible flag on her finger but smiling nevertheless.

"You know… before you killed me I was kind of proud. You're not the kid I once tricked into eating pickles with sour cream. Joker's been trying for over 8 months and you got the job done in a few days. Pretty impressive… although if you ever try it again I promise you won't be nearly as successful." She admitted with a wry smile.

Chance gave her a curious look that made her think he was about to laugh and she limped passed him.

"Shut up." She said, hitting him in the shoulder as she walked by.

"What's wrong with your leg?" he asked, changing the subject.

She smiled grimly now, "I hit it on one of the drainage spouts to the dam. The clown tried to kill me again and I jumped over the side to get away from him and grab onto the spout but I've never really been good at landings. The clown jumped over the side though so I guess that's a bonus… although he didn't die like he was supposed to." She muttered, pouting slightly.

Chance smirked slightly. "Just how many people have tried to kill you in this city?" he laughed.

"Oh… just about everyone." She smirked, "Even Zai gave it a go once." She laughed; surprised she could even laugh at this point let alone laugh at something so morbid, "I guess I'm just that irresistible." She went on sarcastically, rolling her eyes before meeting his.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"I already told you, I was already on my way…" he started but she cut him off.

"Not what I meant. I asked WHY not how." She said seriously, looking him in the eyes for a long moment before he finally looked away.

"To make sure you hadn't managed to send the city into chaos again." He lied hollowly, turning away from her as he said it.

Curiosity's mouth formed into a tight angry line now but she forced herself to calm down.

"Liar…" she accused, meeting his eyes directly as he turned to face her once more.

"What did you say?" he asked hotly and she smiled pointedly at him.

"Liar, do you need me to spell it for you?" she smirked to which he advanced on her and put his hand on the side of her neck, pushing her up against the alley wall before smirking dangerously at her, meeting her eyes with a murderous intensity that sent icy tendrils up her spine.

Just when she thought he was going to kill her however his lips plunged over hers and moved in rhythm with hers as she kissed him back, letting him push her closer up against the wall and lift her until she could wrap her legs around his waist.

Curiosity stopped kissing him for a brief moment and raised a finger as if she were about to say something when he smirked.

"Shut up." He ordered and kissed her once more as she closed her mouth to smile in blissful intoxication.


	30. Even

Evil Intent part 30

Curiosity ran her hand through Chance's hair and grabbed a fistful of it before holding his mouth to hers, shifting her arms tightly around his neck as tears streamed down her face, her eyes slammed closed, clinging to him desperately as if expecting him to disappear at any second. For the first time in a long time she felt… happy… and she couldn't force herself to give it up no matter how hard she tried, no matter how much she knew she didn't deserve it.

Chance smiled under her lips and began kissing her a bit more aggressively now, causing her to be pressed against the alley wall as she lifted her legs around his waist.

He stopped kissing her for a moment and simply touched his forehead to hers, looking into her eyes as he wiped away the tears rolling down her cheeks and smiled.

"You never stopped playing the game did you?" he asked and she looked a bit confused at this, "Times 10." He smiled, brushing her hair out of her face, "Everything I do you have to do 10 times better and I'll never stop trying because I know you can and I wouldn't have it any other way. You've amazed me from the day we met. You frustrate me, torture me, and piss me off but despite everything you do… life is Hell without you." he said honestly, running his hand through her hair gently.

Tears rolled down her face even faster now and she tightened her grip on him.

"I guess we're even then." She said with a choked laugh and kissed him hard, ripping his shirt off as he shirked his jacket off and unzipped her jacket to find her wearing a blood stained black button up shirt.

He paused at this and looked her in the eyes once more, brushing her hair behind her ear before finally ripping the buttons open and kissing her deeply.

Joker lay on the cool concrete seething with every breath he took , smiling tightly and laughing before rising to his feet, his tailcoat and dreadlocks hanging low and clinging to his water logged form. He pulled a dead leaf out of his hair and made his way back up the dam, leaving a trail of murky water behind him, a mad grin stretching across his face as he thought of all the inhumane things he was going to do to the girl who was now waving condescendingly at him from above.

After a moment however she stopped waving and took off, limping slightly as she went and it cheered him up to see that at least she hadn't escaped the matter without withstanding some damage and he laughed at her awkward state as she made her way out of sight.

He stretched for a moment and popped his back before making off at a run in the direction she'd started with a mad grin before an idea struck him and he made his way toward the narrows. Chances were Curiosity would be with Chance and although he didn't know where Chance was he knew someone who would; someone who knew just where every criminal in Gotham did business. Even if he didn't know where Chance was he'd know where Clayface was and Clayface would know exactly where to find him. The only problem with getting information out of Clayface was he'd most likely try to kill him the instant he saw him.

He thought about this for a long moment but then grinned as an idea struck him. Clayface had nothing against Zai though and his Ducky would be more than willing to do him such an innocent favor to make up for shooting him. If she wasn't then there would be trouble and she knew it.

He chuckled darkly now and set his sights on one of the taller buildings in the narrows. It was still a bit shabby looking but it looked considerably better than the other buildings around it and far better than any of the buildings the rouges gallery would normally inhabit. However Black Mask was first and foremost a businessman and he went out of his way to stand out as the most respected villain in town… even if he was kidding himself thinking he was. After all who did Gotham respect more: An old, skeleton of a man with a face made of charcoal who dressed in a fancy suit, pretending to be fancy or the Clown Prince of Crime himself?

Before he got within twenty feet of the door however he was covered in red dots and he looked up at the balcony with a broad smile and a wave a Black Mask who made a look of disgust as he called his men off.

"What do you want Clown?" he asked curtly and Joker gave him a mock expression of hurt.

"What? I can't drop in to see an old friend?" he asked with a laugh and Black Mask gave him an annoyed look.

"What do you really want Joker?" he asked simply, leaning on the railing in front of him to look down at Joker.

"I just came by to chat about a few things… you know the weather, business, Clayface and Silstrung." He said casually before dropping into a serious tone.

Black Mask looked irritated now but issued for his guards to leave.

"What do you want to know and what's in it for me if I tell you?" he asked tersely.

"I'll leave for starters." Joker offered with a grin but Black Mask refused to smile.

"You could LEAVE in a body bag. What else do you have?" he asked, irritated with even having to deal with the deranged clown.

Joker pretended to pout now. "That's not very nice." He sulked but then grinned and countered with a question, "Do you remember everything that happened today?"

"Yeah, shot two guys and had a deranged clown show up on my doorstep. What does that have to do with anything?" he asked coldly but to his surprise Joker simply smiled.

"What about the storm, Gotham turned into a circling cyclone, literally a Hell on earth? Remember that?" he asked slyly and Black Mask eyed him with a slight interest.

"I thought it was a nightmare, some panicking idiot hit me with his car trying to get out of the city. You mean to tell me it was real?" he asked and Joker grinned as he nodded, knowing he'd hooked him.

"I know the girl responsible for all of it and I can guarantee Chance is protecting her. And if you don't know where HE'S at then Clayface is sure to know and I know you know where he's at." He grinned and Black Mask seemed to be interested.

"And what will you do once I give you the information?" he asked curiously and Joker grinned.

"Kill them both… slowly." He grinned and Black Mask seemed to be taken in by the offer.

"What's her name?" he asked curiously.

"Curiosity." He answered before Black Mask finally nodded at him in agreement with a dark smile.

"Make sure to give them my regards." He laughed, pulling a card out of his jacket and tossing it down to Joker, "There's Chance's apartment. I'll be watching the news for the story. Don't disappoint me." He smirked, heading back inside to meet up with two guards who held the door open for him.

Joker smiled at the address. He was almost disappointed Zai didn't have a role in its discovery but he decided he'd find a way to get her back anyway after they were both dead. After all, who would she have left to turn to once they were gone?

He smiled broadly now as he began heading for the apartment. He could almost smell the blood in the air. She was as good as _**dead**_.


	31. Reflections

Evil Intent part 31

Curiosity lay with her head rested over Chance's bare chest, breathing deeply but for the first time not out of fear or simply exhaustion but out of relief. It felt as if some crushing weight that had settled in her chest for years, causing her to question if there had even been a time when it wasn't there, had suddenly been lifted and she suddenly found herself remembering how her father had hugged her tight and then let her down to be swung between her two parents, making her feel as if she were flying.

Tears shown in her eyes at this memory but she didn't move to brush them away and simply tucked her head beneath Chance's chin as he smiled lovingly at her and brushed the hair out of her face, kissing her on the forehead before falling asleep with his head propped against the alley wall.

Everything seemed to be falling back into place as she closed her eyes and began to remember what she'd long since forgotten: everything she'd ever hoped or dreamed for, every fond memory, every painfully sweet detail of her past; all rushing back to her.

The moment the sensation was gone however her tears began to flow with genuine grief and she felt as if the saying "curiosity killed the cat" never held so true than in that moment. Every kind word, every loving embrace, every happy moment had been devoured and regurgitated into the horrid, pathetic excuse of a life she possessed and for the first time she realized why it was Chance still called her by Chloe Form.

She was a poison. Everything she touched or made contact with withered away until it was no more than dust. He'd taken her in and accepted her and she'd acted just as her nature intended and destroyed everything he had before leaving him alone in that desecrated house where she'd killed his father.

She suddenly found her own words resounding in her head harsh and merciless and yet so soft she felt as if the voice itself lied hidden within the recesses of her mind like a monster in wait, hissing at her as its moment came to strike.

"You're a poison. You poison everyone around you including yourself…" It hissed and she found herself unable to deny the accusation, knowing exactly why she'd named herself as such in the first place.

When she was certain Chance was asleep she studied him for a long time and noted how peaceful he looked when he was asleep. She could hardly believe he was the man who just recently plunged a knife into her chest. Though she had never been one to judge on appearances she saw not a killer but an angel… her fallen angel. Unbelievably cunning with the strength to match and yet vulnerable enough to fall victim to love's cruel deceit.

She carefully removed his arm from around her and laid it at his side, pulling out her knife and studying it in the moonlight for a moment before closing her eyes and reopening them with fresh tears in her eyes as she slipped it into his hand and quietly before getting dressed and walking away from the alley.

He'd move on eventually. He'd narrowly escaped forfeiting his soul for her, Zai had shot the man she, misguidedly, loved for her... She wasn't going to let them do it again.

She was about to start walking down the block when a figure across the street caught her attention. A sad looking man stood on the corner with his hands pressed deeply into his coat pockets so that they almost seemed to meld with his flesh. He hung his head down low although it was clear he'd been watching the alley if only briefly.

Upon closer inspection however she realized that his coat actually WAS melding with his flesh and her face set into a hard line before she curiously approached him, startling him from his thoughts.

He looked at her for a long moment before turning to walk away, setting a briefcase down beside him as he did so.

"Sorry…" he uttered in a tone so low she was barely aware he'd said anything at all.

"Don't be." She replied solemnly, knowing exactly what he was referring to.

This stopped him in his tracks for a moment and he looked directly at her, studying her slightly as she looked back at him with a small, forgiving smile.

"This is for you." he finally said, addressing the briefcase on the sidewalk.

She quirked an eyebrow slightly at this but examined it to find it filled with the money Chance had paid him to help kill her.

She smiled slightly at this but handed it back to him.

"Keep it. I'm not going to need it anyway. Just promise me one thing." She said seriously, "Kill Talia Al Ghul before she kills Yin. She's already tried once. Don't let her do it again. Just once I'd like to believe there CAN be a happily ever after and just so you know she really does care about you. Just look at her desk and you can plainly see that." She smiled softly before walking away from him.

Clayface stared in disbelief at her and then the case in his hands as if seeing a completely different person in front of him than he'd believed her to be.

"As you can attest being good is a lot harder than it seems but for her sake… please try. She was willing to sell her soul to save everyone. She deserves at least that." She said quietly as she disappeared out of sight.

She hung her head low now and began making her way toward the docks, stopping before reaching them and thinking for a long moment before continuing down to Joker's hideout, finding it empty but recently used.

She sighed and plopped down in his Santa chair, noting the broken television and hammer in front of her. Apparently even appliances had reason to fear the deranged harlequin.

She looked up at the walls and saw Joker's twisted sense of style not only affected his outfit. Pictures of his ghoulish smiling victims lay scattered across a desk across the room, an assortment of colorful weapons and gags were strewn everywhere she looked, and little dolls of she and Batman hung from the ceiling over his desk with nooses around their necks and X's for eyes. Batman's doll looked older and had several stab wounds on it where stuffing leaked out and a bright red smile was drawn across his face while her doll was hung upside down with pins sticking into virtually every pore of it, a line of needles stuck into her face to form a grotesque smile that immediately caused her heart to pound in her chest.

She shook her head now and brought her legs up to her chest to hug them as if by drawing into herself she could make everything disappear if only for a moment. After a moment of realizing this wouldn't work however she began to feel awkward and decided to get up and look around, feeling a strange compulsion to look at the dolls hanging above his desk but purposely averting her gaze from them.

She could still remember the feeling of the cold steel of his knife cutting into her face and no matter what she looked at the only images running through her mind were of all the torturously imaginative things he probably had in store for her.

Finally unable to stop looking at the dolls hanging above his desk she made her way over to them and pulled them down, removing the nooses from around their necks and beginning to pull the pins from her doll when she heard movement upstairs and tensed, gripping the doll tightly as she tried to control her breathing, concentrating on removing the pins from the doll.

Footsteps began to echo down the stairs and she began chanting the mantra that had so haunted her earlier in her mind to combat the fear that now raced up her spine.


	32. Toys

Evil Intent part 32

Joker stormed down the stairs of his hideout angrily feeling as if he'd been stood up having only found a cheap apartment filled with empty bottles of rum and a broken television. He angrily kicked his hammer out of the way of his Santa chair now and almost didn't even see Curiosity sitting behind his desk, pulling the pins from the doll he'd made of her and squeezing it so hard he was sure the head would pop off if she kept squeezing.

"You have very… interesting… toys." She said sarcastically with a grim smile tracing her lips as she finished plucking the last pin from the throat which had been pierced all the way through the back so that only the ball of the pin stuck out at a painful angle from under the chin.

Joker studied her slightly before grinning broadly, his eyes gleaming sadistically now as he stepped forward, causing her to instinctively step back, only to find the wall behind her.

"Not as interesting as this one…" he grinned, taking another step toward her and placing a hand on the wall beside her head, blocking her escape route, "You don't have your knives do you?" he asked, tilting his head to the side slightly, his face so close to hers that she turned her head away in revulsion at his breath.

"Must have left them in my other pants." She said in a tone that was meant to be sarcastic but ended up sounding rather quiet and tired instead.

"Tsk tsk tsk…" he started, ramming his knee up suddenly into her chest and kicking her into the wall when she gasped, "Gotta say I'm a little disappointed." He said, kicking her in the ribs when she slid to the floor, "What happened? Did your little boyfriend break up with you?" he laughed condescendingly.

"No." she said flatly, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth which earned her another fierce kick to the ribs.

"No?" he laughed, tilting his head to the side as he got down to eye level with her "What? Getting home sick? Or maybe you just wanted cheering up." He laughed, locking eyes with her now before lifting her up by the throat and toying with the pin that had been lodged in her dolls throat with his other hand.

"If that's the case you certainly came to the right place." He grinned and she paled slightly, panic beginning to settle in as she realized there was no turning back now.

She fought the uneasy feeling in her stomach however and simply looked in his eyes determinedly as if daring him to continue despite the aching fear in her chest.

He smiled broadly at this however and ran a finger down the side of her face with the pin still poised between his fingers, unnerving her slightly and causing her to drop the doll which he caught before dropping her and stabbing the doll all the way through into the wall beside her head.

She stared at the doll for a moment, seeing that the pin had pierced her throat once more. Whether this was a coincidence or on purpose it still made her heart race and the aching in her chest immediately made itself known once more. She couldn't help but thinking about how much practice he'd had with the doll and everything he'd done to it.

Slowly she turned her attention back to Joker who was grinning maliciously at her and felt her heart sink as he flipped open a knife.

"Your turn." He popped happily, causing her to slam her eyes shut before feeling the knife bury itself into her shoulder and embed itself into the wood behind her.

She held in a scream and breathed heavily through her nose now, refusing to give him the satisfaction until he suddenly twisted the knife and pulled it out to which she let out a surprised gasp and sunk to the floor, holding it gingerly.

"Smile!" he said in a sickly sweet tone, "This IS what you wanted isn't it?" he grinned and she glared fiercely at him but didn't answer, simply cupping her shoulder and muttering something to herself that he couldn't quite make out.

He smiled tightly now and grabbed a fistful of her hair so that she had to look at him.

"I said SMILE!" he repeated testily and she glared at him out of spite to which he bashed her head into the floor before lifting her head up once more only to find her still glaring at him with a bloody lip.

"Fine, if you won't smile I guess I'll just have to MAKE you smile." He grinned, squeezing his boutonnière into her face as her eyes widened and she attempted to disappear into the woodwork behind her.

He smiled now as her lips began to twitch and she fought against the inevitable laughter building inside her.

"Haley really is killing me…" she thought dejectedly as a giggle escaped her lips along with a tear which she quickly hid from Joker, turning away from him and toward the wall with the best frown she could manage plastered across her face.

She suddenly found another tear trickling down her cheek and looked up at the wall, closing her eyes and imagining herself swinging in her parent's arms instead of in the basement of Joker's hideout sure to be tortured to death.

The laughter was quiet at first but soon began to escalate until she could no longer concentrate on anything else and Joker grinned at her, laughing at her as he pulled his knife out once more, seeing the pained look in her eyes and her futile attempts to hide her face from him.

"Say ah!" he laughed, sinking down to her level as her eyes flashed with panic and, though her laughter grew to the point where it was shrill and hoarse, she fought to keep her mouth closed and away from his approaching blade.

After watching her futile attempts with mild amusement however he ripped her from the corner and threw her to the floor in the center of the room where she attempted to retreat from him but found herself unable to breath from laughter and collapsed on her back laughing with her eyes slammed shut, tears streaming down her face as silent laughter ripped from her until she passed out and Joker frowned in disappointment at her, wanting to have had the chance to carve her face up while she was awake but then grinned at the thought of what he could do to her while she was asleep.


	33. A Real Stitch in Your Side

Evil Intent part 33

Curiosity woke up to distant sounding laughter and a sharp pain in her shoulder on top of the aching in her chest.

Her breathing picked up slightly as she realized her skin prickled and a telling sense of vertigo overcame her, reminding her of where she was.

She slowly opened her eyes to find her suspicions to be not only true but worse.

She was not only hanging upside down but her skin was covered in needles and she whimpered slightly at the realization before realizing Joker was in the middle of setting up a tripod in front of her with a video camera on top.

She was about to start pulling them out when she realized her fingers were covered in them.

"You didn't seem to find me funny earlier so I came up with a way to REALLY put a stitch in your side." He grinned, "Zai happened to mention just how much you LOVE needles after the holidays were over. As I recall she said something about not doing this sort of thing but considering she shot me I figure she owes me one." He laughed darkly, approaching her to which she slammed her eyes shut and allowed her tears to come freely, crossing her arms in front of her face carefully so as not to disturb the needles in her skin as she whimpered softly.

Her nerves thrummed with an overwhelming awareness now as she imagined all the needles protruding from her skin without even opening her eyes. It wasn't exactly the pain that bothered her but the sense of violation. The sense of knowing he'd discovered one of her worst fears and not only used it against her but let her wonder about the time and effort he'd exerted finding the perfect way to humiliate her and warp her actions to suit his sick sense of humor. It felt as if he himself was under her skin, driving the needles deeper and deeper every time he forced her to relinquish the control she'd strove so hard to attain.

"Just do it already! If you're going to do it, do it!" she shouted angrily at him as he laughed at her and held her arms away from her face and behind her back so that the camera could see the anguished look on her face.

"Do what?" he asked, his red eyes shining sadistically at her as he stared directly into her dark green ones, bending down so that he was eye level with her.

"You know what I mean!" She shouted glaring at him through tear filled eyes.

"No I don't." he lied, grinning at her, "What do you want me to do?"

Curiosity could feel every muscle in her body tensing in anger at him now. He was going to make her say it. It was all a joke to him. It was all just one big joke… taking her, someone who'd fought so hard to be strong in every situation, and forcing her to beg him to kill her.

White hot anger coursed through her now and she wanted nothing more than to make him suffer in unimaginable agony and she let a slight defiant smile touch her lips despite the tears running down her cheeks and into her hair.

"I WANT you to fuck yourself with a hot iron poker." She smirked and he smiled back in amusement before laying his hand on her chest and pushing the needles deeper into her until blood began to bubble up under his fingertips and she drew in a sharp shaky breath and turned her face away in pain.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that." He smirked triumphantly; twisting her head back around so that she faced him once more with fresh tears in her eyes.

"Kill me…" she breathed through gritted teeth, closing her eyes solemnly, "Or I'll make you wish you had." She threatened, opening her eyes to meet his directly.

Joker smiled at this but his eyes betrayed how angry he actually was and he laughed at her.

"And what could you do? You don't have your precious little knives, you're tied up upside down, and you're covered in needles." He laughed, flicking her in the nose condescendingly.

She smiled spitefully at this and looked over at the camera with tears running down her face despite her smile.

"Hey Bats, if you happen to be watching… which I'm fairly sure you are along with whoever else Jack wants to see this. Joker's real name is Jack…" she started only to have the hammer she'd seen lying next to his broken TV earlier slammed into the side of her head.

She hung limply now with blood trickling down the side of her face and Joker breathed heavily in anger, grinning psychotically now as he laughed and raised the hammer for a second strike only to find it striking thin air

Curiosity looked over through half lidded eyes at Joker to find herself on the floor, bleeding both from her head and from the needles that had been shoved into her side when she'd fallen.

She saw his hammer spin through empty air and thought dispassionately that the strike had been meant for her but she only found herself amused at how angry he was because her thoughts seemed to be fuzzy for some reason she couldn't quite figure out.

She squeezed her eyes shut for a long moment to see if she could make the pain go away or at least figure out what was causing it but she came up blank and finally gave up and opened her eyes once more to see Joker unconscious and hanging from the ceiling fan. This image only made her pause for a second though and she absentmindedly returned her attention back to the question of why her thoughts were still fuzzy.

"Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that my head hurts..." she thought distractedly and giggled when she felt someone scoop her up and saw the bat symbol on their chest before passing out when her head started spinning at the sudden movement.

Bruce looked down at her and wondered if he had not been too late. Before coming in he'd paused for a moment; just a moment but he'd paused and now he found himself remembering parts of a conversation they'd once had.

"…If I let you or anyone else die, knowing I could have saved them I wouldn't be able to live with myself so no, it's not in my best interest to just sit back and watch the blood bath."

"Pesky things, consciences, aren't they? Never quite leave you alone even if you know what you're doing is the smart decision."

"…We're not that different Bruce. We both watched our parents die. The difference between you and I is that instead of having a fortune and Alfred to lean on I got sentenced to live in a basement for three years. You got to see what good there was in the world and I got to see how cruel and savage it can be. Can you honestly say that if you'd been in my shoes you would have turned out any different? Ask yourself THAT and see what your conscience has to say."

He clutched her a little bit closer now and immediately pressed the button on his utility belt to signal for the Batmobile to come around as Joker moaned slightly.


	34. Frightening Conclusions

Evil Intent part 34

Chance woke with a start and wiped the sweat from his forehead and attempted to calm down before looking over to see if he'd disturbed Chloe, finding her missing with Clayface watching him sadly from across the street.

He suddenly began to panic and his heart sank to his stomach as his hands closed around a cool metal object in his hand: her knife.

Ever since they'd met, since the day he'd given her his pocket knife he'd never seen her without one. Even before he'd killed her she'd still had knives in her back pocket thinking she was out to see a movie with her friend. Something was incredibly wrong and if possible he found himself more terrified than he'd found himself in his nightmare because this was real.

In an instant he was dressed and at Clayface's throat.

"Where is she?" he demanded desperately to which Clayface simply gave him a long contemplative stare before turning away.

"She didn't say. I tried to give her the money you paid me to kill her and she said she wasn't going to need it… She told me to kill Talia Al Ghul before she killed Yin. She told me Yin still… and tried to…" he started but cut off and shook his head in a way that Chance would almost assume he was emotional about something, "My guess is that she's about to do something really stupid so you'd better hurry." He said soberly before starting to walk away.

"Oh and Chance?" he started.

"Yeah?" Chance asked, his thoughts whirling at a million miles an hour.

"Good luck." He said, tossing the brief case back at him.

Chance caught it in disbelief as Clayface escaped his sights.

"Good luck…" he repeated distantly before trying to think of why and where Curiosity had gone.

Where did she have to go? She never was one to have much interest in money but to say she wasn't going to need it was what worried him. Not to mention the knife that still resided in his palm.

All these things seemed to be pointing to one thing but somehow he couldn't bring himself to believe it until a conversation they'd once had rose to the surface of his mind. She'd just broken the mirror in his guest room and he'd told her that if she hadn't liked the mirror he could've just moved it but that hadn't seemed to be the problem and he knew it although at the time he hadn't understood why.

"It's not exactly the mirror I don't like but rather the things reflected in it." She'd said and he'd wanted nothing more than to cheer her up but even his jokes and flattery hadn't seemed to change her opinion on the subject.

He half wondered if her opinion on the subject had ever changed and he stared at his reflection in the knife for a moment as if expecting to see her reflection in it.

She'd seemed like a completely different person now than she had then but at times like this he saw the girl he used to know. She'd always been a bit bipolar about things and it'd never been easy to figure out what she was thinking. She could tell you a million and one things about herself and you wouldn't be able to understand what she was really saying until you saw it in her eyes. Her eyes reflected everything and although she had found ways to hide her emotions she could never truly keep them from her eyes.

When the blade refused to show her reflection instead of his he put it away with a sigh and thought about what he would do if he were in her shoes at the moment.

She could've run, taken off for good but where would she have gone? She'd said that just about everyone in Gotham had tried to kill her at least once and that Zai had even tried once but from what he could tell from the gathering at the TV station only one two people really stood out as prime candidates.

If Zai was her friend could she have gone back to her? It was possible but the knife in his hand seemed to beg to differ and the fact that she'd said she wouldn't need any money worried him greatly.

"Surely she wouldn't do anything stupid. She'd be back within a few hours tops probably covered in blood or smelling like gasoline." He tried to tell himself but still an array of horrible images filled his mind and his gut feeling told him otherwise.

The clown clearly had it out for her and had even saved her from him to make sure he could do the job "properly". She might have been a little out of it but he couldn't imagine why she would willingly subject herself to torture with the crazed clown. Although he couldn't exactly picture her willingly walking into any situation she knew would get her killed. Although he could see her opting into either situation better than he could see her actually killing herself.

He pounded his fist against the wall of an old apartment building now until his fist bled. He couldn't see her willingly going to see the clown but then again why would she tell Clayface to kill Talia if she was already going there? The Scarecrow didn't seem like a very viable option either because not only had he stood up to Talia and gotten shot for it he also hadn't made any move to kill her when he'd found out what she'd done. Instead he'd only tried to protect the pregnant woman he assumed was his wife or girlfriend and her children.

Suddenly he saw a figure making her way out of an apartment building dressed in a rather tattered purple dress, sticking to the shadows as she ran, continually glancing over her shoulder back at the building as if she expected someone to suddenly burst from the building with a machete and hockey mask and chase after her.

As it turned out this assumption wasn't too far off because a moment later Talia Al Ghul burst from the front door with a katana in hand and an angry expression.

Chance looked on in amusement at this and then frowned and pulled out his 44 magnum revolver and aimed it at her back.

"Hey Talia!" he called, directing her attention at him for a second as he pulled the trigger, "Bang." He smirked but was rewarded only with a view of Talia's legs as she ducked and hurled her katana back at him, missing him by only a fraction of an inch and managing to make him nearly crap his pants.

She narrowed her eyes at him and smirked at his expression before turning back to chase after Zai could was clutching a blood red candle in her hands.

After overcoming his initial shock from his near death experience Chance ripped the blade from the pavement behind him and began chasing after her, his eyes blazing with misguided fury as he imagined killing her uncharacteristically slow. In matters of business he was always sure to make things quick and painless but considering this wasn't professional and more than a little personal he was extremely tempted to take everything that had happened out on her.


End file.
